


Days of Our Freakin' Camp

by Siarh



Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Angst, Drama, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Smut, WTF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-18
Updated: 2013-02-18
Packaged: 2017-11-29 18:17:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 35,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/690007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siarh/pseuds/Siarh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maggie shares a secret with an unexpected member of the Atlanta Group. Takes place during Season 2 onward. AU, with canon pairs. Yes-Its a Maggie/Daryl story with canon pairs, confused? Well me too. Rated M for Dixon mouth, and smut. More angsty than romantic. Please review, let me know what you think.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Confessions

Daryl did not even have to look up from the bolt he was working on to see who it was that was approaching his camp. He knew those foot steps. Hell he knew everyone's footsteps at this point. Each one had their own cadence, their own distinct patterns.

He still didn't look up when he saw her familiar shoes come and stop next to his legs where he sat on the ground, working on new projectiles for his crossbow. "What'da'ya want?" he asked, his voice cold, brisk. He didn't want company, that was the whole fucking point in moving his camp out this far from the rest of them. And for whatever reason people were not getting that message. Fucking people.

"Can we talk?" she asked softly, her voice unsure.

He grunted. "Talk."

Her face scrunched up, her nose curling, her lips puckering like his tone was a glass full of sour milk. He hardly talked to her, never really did but she thought maybe they made headway at one point, that one point that seemed like months ago at this point. She chided herself, reminding herself it WAS months ago.

She sat down in front of him, purposely putting herself in direct line with the blade of his knife, knowing that no matter how bad he wanted to ignore her, he would be forced to either shift his work or stop and look at her. With an indignant huff, he turned so they were sitting shoulder to shoulder, her facing the camp, him facing the forest. That was not going how she wanted it to.

"Wastin' daylight," he muttered as he brought the knife-edge back down on the stick in his hand.

She reached a hand out, putting it on his forearm, stopping his movement. He gripped the blade tighter and jerked it out of her reach. "What'da'ya want?" he reiterated, his tone now harsh and filled with annoyance. "I've got shit ta do."

She pulled her hand away, running it through her short hair. "Daryl, look at me." There was a pause, the bade in his hand stopped for a second, and she could see his eyes flicker toward her, stopping only on her shoulder, not raising his head out of his crouch to meet her eyes.

The blade went back to scraping on the stick, all the bark long gone, gone before she even sat down. "You gonna tell me what ta fuck ya want?"

This is not how this conversation played out in her mind the hundreds of times she had it since she realized she had to talk to him. Then again this was Daryl Dixon. When did he ever do anything anyone ever expected him to? Drawing in a deep breath, she tried to collect her thoughts. Just because he couldn't handle having an adult conversation was no reason she should get pissed off and then have this turn into a screaming match.

She unfurled her legs from Taylor fashion, and fished in her pocket. With a flick of her wrist she tossed three completely different plastic sticks toward the pile of wood shavings at his knee. The blade paused for a second. She watched his face as he studied them, and she realized quickly he had no idea what they were. "What ta fuck?" he asked, reaching out, handle of his knife still nestled in his hand, and he flipped one of them over so that he could read what it said. His eyes widened, as recognition hit. He flipped all three so that the plus signs on each one were upright. He swallowed hard, his eyes finally looking up at hers. Narrowed eyes met wide ones just a shade or two lighter than his. She tried to read his features, but outside of his normal pissed off wall, she got nothing. He however saw the borderline panic that spread across her face, her eyes shimmering, two seconds from tearing.

"Fuck me," was all he could say.

She barked out a humorless laugh. "I believe that's how we got here."

"You sure?" he asked, finally setting the knife and stick aside.

"Pretty damn sure we fucked, Daryl," anger colored her words for the first time. She was not letting him get out of this conversation. This concerned him as much as it did her. They may not be anything more to each other than co-surviors but this was not something she wanted to deal with by herself, especially as complicated as it was about to become for both.

He let out a harsh breath through his nose, anger just on the brink of overflowing. "Not what I meant, Maggie," he mumbled, flinging the knife blade into the soft ground.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, not where you thought I was going with it. Don't hate me. I know that is not the pairing I usually write. These two have been dancing around each other in my brain since Lauren showed up on TWD...


	2. That Went Well

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coninued conversation between Maggie and Daryl about the situation they are now in.

"You sure it's mine and not..." his voice faltered, his eyes drifting over his shoulder toward the camp, back towards the others.

She shook her head, closing her eyes, letting the tears that had been kept at bay fall. "It's yours," she assured him. "Daddy's books say the symptoms I have mean I'm about 4 months along."

Daryl clenched his fists. Four months. That's how long it had been since the group from Atlanta arrived at the farm. Four months since he and she met. Four months since their encounter the second night they were settling in. Four months since they sought comfort from one another that they couldn't seem to get anywhere else. Four months since she scared the living shit out of him.

"And me and Glenn..." she paused, unsure how to delicately phrase what she needed to say. "Never without condoms."

"That's alot of fuckin' condoms," he quipped, his voice holding nothing but dry humor. Daryl wasn't jealous of Maggie and Glen, necessarily. It was just hard to not notice how much the two spent at it like rabbits. They were like teenagers. Who could blame them really? It was an escape from the hell they were trapped in. If anything Daryl was jealous of their ability to relax enough to enjoy each other.

As he watched her tears fall, the older man's fists clenched tighter, his eyes closing, his face turning from her. "What'da'ya want from me?" he asked, trying hard to keep the annoyance out of his voice. "Lookin' for me to fight Short Round for your womanly affections?" he asked dryly.

He didn't see it coming but he should have. Maggie's fist, hardened by a life time of farm work, hit his cheek, sending him sprawling across the dirt as she stood up, brushing dirt from her bottom. "Fuck you, Dixon," Maggie growled. "I thought maybe you might want to know before I told Glenn the truth."

Daryl slowly rose to his feet, a hand rubbing his cheek. "You sure that's a good idea?" He closed one eye in the sun, squinting the other to stare at her. "Maybe just let him think its his, and be done with it. No harm, no one needs know."

Maggie clenched her teeth together, her eyes flashing anger at the man. "I don't like lying to people I care about."

He just shook his head at her. "What difference is it going to make? You really think he's gonna be ok raising that kid knowing its mine? Just let him believe what he wants to believe, Maggie. I promise, cross my heart n hope to die no one will hear different from me." He turned to pick up his knife, done with this conversation. Done with this situation, again.

"You want nothing to do with your own child?" she asked harshly. "That's cold, even coming from you."

Daryl whirled on her. "What the fuck do you want from me, Maggie? Huh? To beg you to leave his sorry ass for mine? Cuz ya know you can damn well stop dreaming 'bout that one." That thought certainly had never entered Maggie's mind. What happened between them happened out of a basic need, a desire that had been suppressed for too long. An itch to scratch, nothing more. And the gruff man in front of her had itched it for her, a little too well if she was completely honest with herself. But a relationship with him. Yeah no. Nothing she wanted anything to do with. And he made it abundantly clear the following morning he didn't want it either.

"Use that pretty little head of yours and think this through."

Her eyes narrowed at the arrogance in his voice. "What the fuck do you think I've been doing for the last week you asshole? Been on a fucking picnic?" Clenching her teeth she glanced over her shoulder at the camp before closing the distance between them. Her finger poked him squarely in the chest. "I'm not asking you for a goddamn thing. I was under the mistaken impression that you gave a shit about your own blood."

"What fuckin' difference will it fuckin' make? It ain't like I am heir to some fortune. The name Dixon ain't gonna get that kid any further than...than..." Daryl realized he had no idea what Glenn's last name was, and he was suddenly annoyed at himself for being ashamed of that fact. "Anyone else's." He ran his hand through his hair. "Especially now."

Maggie crossed her arms over her chest, "Your name ain't the fuckin' point and you know it." They stared at each other, hard for a few silent tense moments. Finally she threw her hands up in the air, turning on her heel. "Fine. Fuck you." She stalked back toward the house, and Daryl swore the way she moved, if she had been a horse her tail would have been been twitching the whole way.


	3. Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maggie and Daryl go their separate ways to think.

Maggie slammed the cutting board down on the counter, making Carol jump on the other side of the kitchen. The older woman looked over her shoulder watching the girl yank open a drawer, looking for a utensil, her hand irritably pushing her hair back behind her ear.

"Everything ok, hon?" Carol asked softly as the drawer was slammed shut, and the paring knife was thunked against the counter by the cutting board.

Maggie turned on her heel, reaching for an onion on the island in the center of the kitchen. She glared at the older woman from under her lashes. "Everything is fine," she growled.

Carol tried very hard to not smile at her tone, which told her the exact opposite. "Is it Glenn?"

"I said I was fine." Maggie dropped the vegetable on the counter.

Carol smirked at the girl's back as she started to peel the outer skins off of the onion. She was surprised Maggie could form words with clenched teeth. "What did Daryl say to you?"

The knife in Maggie's hand stilled. "What?" She feigned innocence but it was not lost on the mother on the other side of the room, who moved to stand beside her. Carol leaned her bottom against the counter to Maggie's left, and watched the young woman's expression.

"I just noticed you two talking," Carol shrugged, nonchalantly. "Looked pretty heated for a minute or two."

Maggie's eyes finally met Carol's, waiting for her to continue with what she saw. But the older woman just shrugged. "Just thought you might like to talk," she said noncommittal. Carol pushed away from the counter without a second glance at the girl, not noticing the tears that pooled on her lashes. The older woman returned to her bowl, their backs to each other, working in the silent, tense room.

* * *

Daryl hefted his crossbow over his shoulders, heading for the woods. A scowl painted across his features, one worse than normal. What the fuck was he supposed to do with the news Maggie dumped on his lap? What the hell was she playing at? What did she want from him? She said nothing, but if she didn't want nothing from him then why the hell did she feel the need to tell him? Why couldn't she just let the world believe Glenn was the father?

Daryl could never be a good fucking father. Look at the men in his life. Ain't a single one of them amounted to much. Glenn would clearly be the better choice to help her raise a kid. Fuck, his kid.

His kid. Never thought he'd hear those words together. Daryl Dixon, a father? He didn't even know where to begin with how crazy that statement was. What the fuck would he do with a child? Why would he want to be a part of bringing another life into their hell on earth?

Well someone up above sure had a fuckin' sense of humor, cuz that's sure in hell what Daryl did. He knew fucking Maggie was a bad idea, but he never could turn down a woman in need, especially one with eyes like that.  _Who the fuck am I kidding_? he admitted to himself. He had never bedded a woman half as attractive as Maggie. It took til the end of the world for one to even look at him. And look she did.

He felt a sudden heat rushing to his cheeks and ran his hand through his hair as his eyes searched the ground looking sign that any game might be out and about, ignoring his ears burning with embarrassment of what happened between him and Maggie. It had been a long damn time since he blushed. Figures it would be the farmer's daughter who would cause it.

The taken farmer's daughter, he reminded himself. The taken farmer's daughter, pregnant with his child. So much for not getting involved in the saga of Days of Our Fuckin' Camp!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok what started out as a quick fic that was going to last MAYBE 3 chapters, this thing has taken on a whole other life, there are four more chapters started and I have feeling there will be more. Apologies to my Caryl friends, I have not forgotten about the Jagged Lines series, just... Yeah.


	4. Sorry

Swallowing hard, Daryl opened the screen door and stepped foot in the farm house. He glanced around the front rooms. There was no sign of anyone. Craning his neck around, he looked into the kitchen and saw Maggie. But he stayed rooted right where he was, because she was working on canning whatever vegetable was ready in the garden along with Carol. And Lori. And Beth. And motherfucking Carl.

He didn't know how long he was staring, but he was snapped out of his deer in the headlights stance by footsteps on the porch. Dropping the thumb that he was chewing from his mouth, Daryl quickly turned back to the door, only to come face to face with Shane on the other side of the screen. Normally Daryl wanted to put his fist through the asshole's nose, but that smile of his made Daryl's knee wanna jerk through the other man's pelvis.

"You look lost, Dixon," the former officer sneered, as he stepped in the house. "This," he gestured vaguely around them. "This is the inside of a house."

"Fuck ya," Daryl snarled, shouldering past the other man, heading out the door.

Shane chuckled at himself and made his way into the kitchen. Lori looked up. "Who were you talking to?"

"Your husband's pet redneck," he answered, reaching into the bowl in front of her and snagged a few green beans.

Carol watched as Maggie's form froze briefly at the mention of Daryl. The younger woman exhaled sharply as Shane continued to belittle the other man for all to hear.

"Can't you be a little nicer?" Carol asked him over her shoulder.

Shane finally acknowledged someone in the room beside his best friend's wife. He moved around the center island, his eyes focused on the short-haired woman. "Awww, I didn't realize Daryl brought his mommy with him."

Carol's jaw set, her eyes focused on her hands packing cleaned beans into the glass jar as the younger man came to stand next to her, his eyes studying her profile intently. Maggie saw a slight blush begin to creep up Carol's cheeks, though she wasn't sure if it was due to the topic or if she was just embarrassed by Shane's attention.

"Leave her be, Shane," Lori said from the other side of the room. Shane's dark eyes shifted from Carol to Lori, not liking to be chastised in front of so many people. But it had the desired effect and the group's bully stomped out the back door. As the screen slapped against the frame, Beth let out a small snort. It was less than three seconds before room to erupt in laughter. Except Carl. He missed the joke. Again.

_Adults were so weird._

* * *

Maggie sat on the chair on the front porch, watching the sunset, or so she hoped everyone would think that's what she was up to. In truth she was watching the tree line for Daryl to return to camp. The last time anyone saw him was when he exchanged barbs with Shane in the front room.

It was unusual for Daryl to come in the house, especially during the day. Maggie knew it was self-centered of her to think he had come in to talk to her. He could have been looking for any one of the women in the kitchen. Well maybe not Lori. He seemed to rather chew his own arm off than have much to do with Rick's wife. And well Maggie has never seen him say more than two words to Beth. And Beth was partly scared of him. And Maggie doubted Carl registered on Daryl's radar as anything more than Rick's liability during an attack.

That left her and Carol. Now it was fairly plausible for Daryl to have been looking for the other woman. They had grown closer since Daryl did all he could to find Sophia. Maggie could even see what might be mistaken for an attraction between them, if they would only admit it to themselves and each other. But Maggie knew that was not going to happen anytime soon, they were both too wrapped in their own pasts to see what was staring them in the face.

Cracking her neck, Maggie groaned and closed her eyes. But truthfully Daryl could have been looking for anyone in their little rag tag lot.

 _Fuck. Why did things have to be so damn complicated?_  All because she had a moment or two of weakness, that's why, and now she had to deal with the consequences.

She had gone to Daryl yesterday figuring he should be the first to know, even before Glenn and her father. She honestly didn't know what to expect from him. This wasn't going to be easy on any of them, and would have a ripple effect through the group. She knew Daryl meant no harm by telling her to lie to Glenn. In away it made sense. It kept Glenn from getting hurt. It made things smoother between everyone. It made her seem less like a two-bit whore fucking her way through the group as well.

But she couldn't lie to Glenn and she couldn't lie to her father. Since he was the only doctor they had, he would need to know how far along she was. And that would be a month longer than she had been with Glenn. Leaning her elbow on the arm of the chair, she pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled slowly. And as quick as that, she felt something wet hit the top of her lip. She wiped at it with the back of her hand, and came back with blood.

Shit. She ran into the house for something to clean herself up with. Pinching her nose shut, Maggie ran for the kitchen, grabbing a towel off of the drying rack. She leaned her ass back against the edge of the sink, and tipped her head back, holding the towel in place. She stood there for few minutes before she heard the front door shut quietly. With her head tilted back, she couldn't see who was coming through the dining room, she could only hear heavy footsteps.

"Ya ok?" Daryl drawled as he moved to stand next to her. He looked down at her with concern in his eyes.

"Yeah I'm ok. Just a bloody nose," she sighed. "They are an added bonus to my situation."

Daryl smiled at her softly, placing his hand over hers on the towel. "Trust me?" he asked.

Maggie gave him a questioning look, her brow drawn together. "Sure, I guess."

"Move your hand." She slipped her hand out from under his grasp, letting him apply pressure to her hemorrhaging nose. "Put your head down where it belongs."

"But I need to-"

"Ya need to put your head down, ya big baby."

Maggie scowled at him, but did as he asked. She watched him pull his hunting knife from its sheath, and promptly jerked away from him. "What the fuck-"

"Hold still," he admonished. He made a move to grab her arm to keep her in place, but the handle of his blade was tucked against his palm with his ring and pinky fingers, the blade flat against the underside of his forearm and that only made Maggie move, again. He sighed. "Knock it ta hell off n hold still." Maggie finally did what he asked and watched his face closely as he slid the flat of the blade against the back of her neck, while still maintaining pressure on her nose.

They stood in the kitchen in awkward silence for a moment or two. "So," she said, her eyes meeting his. "What's this supposed do exactly?"

"Stop your bleedin'."

"How?"

"How ta fuck should I know?"

"Cuz your the one with the giant knife against the back of my neck, that's why."

He just shrugged. "Granddad taught me n Merle this trick when we was kids. Jus' give it a couple minutes."

Maggie figured what did she really have to lose. So she let her hands relax at her side.

He smirked at her. "So, canning go good?"

Maggie started to nod her head but was quickly reminded that was not an advisable move. "Yeah. We got 3 dozen jars of beans done today. If we are able to do that with most of the vegetables we should have enough to get us all through winter. We just need more canning supplies. We only have so much."

"We can add it to Glenn's grocery list.". The mention of Glenn brought a tension between them, especially as their eyes met and skidded from each other.

Maggie blinked quickly, shifting as much as a woman with 3/4s of a foot of sharpened steel pressed to the back of her neck could. "How'd hunting go?"

"Usual, half a dozen squirrels. We're about out of meat out there," he admitted. "Gonna have to start going further out to find something. Especially with two of you ladies in camp who are going to be needing more food." Daryl smiled sheepishly down at her. She answered in turn, though the lower half of her face was hidden by the kitchen towel. She knew he was trying to apologize. She knew the word 'sorry' probably never left his lips before.

"Neither of us are much for meat right now," she admitted, almost apologetically. Daryl's brow puckered in confusion. "It's got something to do with being pregnant. I don't know. Daddy's books are limited in their explanations. They are more like how-to- manuals."

Maggie realized she was babbling because she was nervous. She didn't know why, she just was. Maybe it was her body remembering what had happened between them the last time they were this close to one another. Her hormones were already in an uproar, she didn't need to add fuel to the fire by replaying the events of that night over and over again in her head.

The tension wasn't lost on Daryl. Her green eyes flickered down to watch him tuck his bottom lip under his teeth. He watched her watch his mouth and nervously licked his lips which he quickly realized was the wrong thing to do. Instead of focusing on things those eyes of her's pleaded with him to do against the barn wall, he checked on her nose. He stepped forward, coming to stand directly in front of her. Gently he pulled the towel away from her nose, holding it by her chin in case the flow hasn't stopped.

He grinned down at her as she realized Granddad's age old remedy worked.

"How in the hell-" Maggie reached up with the back of her hand and brushed it against the bottom of her nose.

"Hey!" Daryl smacked her forearm with the flat of his knife. "Don't touch," he growled lightly at her, as he slid the 8 inch blade back into the sheath on his hip.

Maggie half glared half smiled at him as he moved past her to dip a clean corner of the towel in the bucket of water in the sink. Gripping her chin, he tipped her head back. He gently wiped at the blood left on her skin. Maggie watched his face as he carefully cleaned her up. He looked so... Relaxed? At ease? She never saw him like this except...well actually never.

He finished before she could think any harder. Daryl let go of her chin and laid a kiss on her temple. "There ya go, Momma Bear. Good as new." He laid the towel on the counter next to her before moving away. Clearing his throat, he stopped next to the fridge and looked back at her, saw her watching him. "Jus' let me know," he muttered softly.

Maggie leaned forward on the island, not sure what she had heard. "What?"

Daryl reached behind his head, scratching absently, he stared at the bowl on the island instead of at her. "Ah. Whatever ya need, whatever ya decide, is fine wit me. Jus' tell me whatcha need from me." He met her eyes with a sheepish grin. And with a sharp nod, he headed out of the room.

"Hey Daryl." Maggie called.

He stopped in the doorway and looked back over his shoulder at her.

"'Night."

He waved one hand over his head and continued out into the darkness.

 


	5. Flashback

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Without further ado, I give you smut. Flashback smut.

It was late, well after sunset, and Maggie had no idea why she was standing behind the horse barn. She had told her dad she was headed to bed, and instead of going up the stairs, she slipped out the back door. Quietly she headed to the back of the barn, hiding in the shadows watching one of the men from the group that had set up camp in their front yard.

She had quietly contemplated all the people in the group over the past two days, taking mental notes, keeping her eye out for anything out of the ordinary, things that would cause trouble between them and her family's group. She didn't really think anything horrible about any of the new folks. So far they all seemed wiling to abide by her dad's rules, some swallowing it a little easier than others. Rick appeared to have a good hold on the group, all the group, except maybe this one. Maybe that's why she followed him out to the paddock. Rick was just one man, and no matter how good his intentions were, how could he know what all of his group was up to one time.

Daryl stood in the paddock, next to the horse troth. Standing against the barn wall, Maggie watched him absently scratch Boober on the nose as he filled a bucket from the spigot by the troth. The old mostly blind horse nuzzled his shoulder demanding more attention. Daryl shut off the water and turned to face the animal, both hands running along the horse's jaw as Boober pressed the flat of his forehead into the man's chest, knocking him back a little. The man allowed a small chuckle and genuine smile as he thrust one foot back to keep him from sprawling in the dirt.

"Hey now," Daryl crooned to Boober. "Easy big fella." His hands moved up to horse's ears, scratching, rubbing. "I 'pose they don't have as much time fer ya as they once had." he mumbled to the beast, his voice low and soft, nothing like the harsh tones Maggie has heard him take with humans the past two days.

With a small smile, she leaned her hip and shoulder against the side of the barn, watching him interact with the animal. Boober had been on the farm for as long as Maggie could remember. The cataracts that mostly coated his eyes meant he couldn't be ridden or used for work, but that didn't stop her dad from keeping him when his original owners asked Hershel to put the horse down. Hershel never measured animals by what they could or couldn't do, but more so by what the size of their hearts. And Boober was the sweetest thing on the planet.

Maggie had to stifle a giggle as she watched Boober nibble at Daryl's pant pocket. "Hey!" the man softly chastised. "I ain't got anything for you, bud. I'll find you something. Surely these people must have apples or something for you somewhere." He continued to scratch the old horse's neck for a couple more moments before leaning over and laying a kiss between Boober's eyes. "Let me get cleaned up, k?"

Daryl stepped toward the fence, placing the bucket on the ground before sliding himself between two railings. Maggie watched him shuck off his shirt, and toss it on the top railing. He quickly rethought that, and shook his head as the old horse moved to nose the shirt. Daryl reached out and snagged it before Boober could nibble. "Oh stop it. You ain't starvin'." Boober blew a harsh breath, voicing his displeasure with Daryl stealing his snack, which only made Maggie's silent giggles hit harder. "Cut it out," the man said, laughter coloring his words.

Tossing his shirt on the branch of a nearby tree, Daryl grabbed a cloth and a bar of soap from the ground, before he undid the belt and button on the top of his pants. He toed out of his boots, tossing them and his jeans toward the tree that held his shirt.

Maggie bit back a small noise in the back of her mouth as she watched his muscles move smoothly under his skin, rippling with each move. Daryl paused, his head turned in her general direction, and she was sure she was busted. She slunk back further into the shadow and stayed there until he relaxed and bent over to wet down the cloth in the bucket.

The man ran the cloth over the bar of soap, and began to clean himself. He started at his neck, rubbing the cloth up, scrubbing behind his ears, then down the plains of his neck and over his shoulders. Maggie's eyes had long ago adjusted to the darkness, and she could see him as well as if he was standing on a stage with three spot lights on him.

She watched the cloth scrub over the skin on his arms, watched the muscles move almost gracefully under Daryl's skin. His hands and the cloth disappeared as he washed his chest, and she found herself desperately praying he would turn around, let her see that chest she was sure was fucking fantastic, ripped and chiseled, and just thinking about running her fingers through the grooves and valleys made the heat in her belly pool lower.

He rinsed the cloth in the bucket, careful to squeeze the dirty water out away from the clean bucket at his side. Satisfied it was as clean as it was going to get, he plopped it back in the bucket for a second while he reached for the bar of soap again. As he leaned forward slightly, his legs parting and bending, Maggie was fairly certain she was able to see...Yes, those were most definitely his balls, swinging lightly as he did something above her eye line with something in his hands. At this point her brain had turned to mush and she didn't really register much, having formed tunnel vision.

Biting her bottom lip, she watched as he still refused her mental plea to turn toward her, as he soaped up the boys, slowly, methodically. _He is a goddamn tease_ , she groaned to herself. Well he would be a goddamn tease if he knew she was there. A soft groan from him brought her attention up from where his hands were hidden from her view. Daryl's head was back slightly, cocked to one side. The heat pulling between her thighs became a pounding. Maggie let out a soft hiss and his hands stopped moving, for a second, a split second. Or did they? Did he hear her? Did he know she was there?  _Oh fuck._

His hands continued down his body. He started to move over one thigh, before switching to the other. Soon he was down to his feet and Maggie knew her show was coming to an end, and the butterflies in her stomach morphed into giant fucking bats as realized she was about to get a hell of an ending. Daryl reached for the bucket, and poured about half of it over his head. They both took a sharp breath as the cold water hit his skin, cascading down his body, washing some of soap the to the grass. Putting the bucket down, he swiped the bar soap, and ran it against his short scraggly hair, a small amount of lather forming. Tossing it to the side, he leaned back, and let his fingers run through the soapy mess, scrubbing at his scalp. The way his fingers moved so carefully and slow, Maggie swore he was getting every single piece of dirt, every loose hair, every anything that... wait what the hell was her brain mumbling out? She wouldn't be surprised at this point if it started pouring out of her ears.

Daryl reached for the bucket, and splashed the last of its contents over his head. He ran his hands over the contours of his body, chasing the water and the suds down to the ground. Maggie was hotter than she had been...ever. The throb she felt between her legs was unrelenting as Daryl reached for his towel. With her lip tucked between her teeth, she moved from the shadows. But instead of heading toward the house, she found herself moving toward him.

"Whatcha doin'?" he asked over his shoulder, as if he knew she was there all along. For a brief moment she thought he was mad, but she realized the emotion in his voice was not that of anger. He kept his back to her, and continued to towel off, starting with his head and working his way down. Maggie stopped behind him, her fingers hovered centimeters from his skin. The heat from his body radiated through the tips of her fingers.

Maggie didn't know how to answer his question, because honestly she has no idea what she was doing. Her fingers itched, wanted to touch his skin. She shook her head at the cliché but it was true- she was like a moth to a flame. There was something irresistible about the man. She laid her hands flat on the plains of his back. He twitched for a second but didn't move away from her. She let her new-found courage flow through her as she pressed an open mouth kiss on his shoulder-blade, her tongue reaching out to catch a drop of water on the edge of the tattoo that ran most of the right side of his back.

Daryl's only response was a deep groan. It had been entirely too long since anyone had touched him, much less so intimately. "Ya should head right back to bed, lil girl," he groaned, his voice laced with warning and lust.

She smiled against his skin before playfully nipping at him. "Make me," she whispered, her hands moving softly over his skin, a ripple of muscle following her touch.

Abruptly he turned toward her, catching her wrists where they hovered, his rough fingers curling around her small wrists. Their eyes met, and she could see the want in the blue eyes. "Ya don't wanna play wit a grumpy old man," he assured her.

Maggie bit her bottom lip, looking up at him through her lashes, a smirk settling at the corner of her lips. "Maybe I like grumpy old men," she whispered. Pressing her hands against his chest, she moved slightly, her mouth seeking his. He turned his head, allowing her lips to hit his cheek. Maggie just grinned and lightly bit his jaw.

"How long's it been?" she muttered against his stubble cheek. She pulled her wrists from his grasp, running them up his chest. He let her, knowing this was a bad, bad, bad idea. But his skin tingled in the wake of her fingers, making his own twitch, wanting to touch her. Wanting to touch the daughter of the man who gave the group shelter. Fuck, this could get complicated as hell real fast, he thought, as he drew in a deep breath. Her smell filled him with a burning want, a desire that started when he first noticed her smell on the breeze, when he was filling his bucket. He figured she was out here keeping an eye on him for her old man. He figured he'd give her a reason to stare, and so he had languidly bathed. The night was warm, and he didn't mind taking his time.

Daryl growled as her nails lightly scrapped over his skin, her mouth hot against his neck, and he remembered she asked him a question. "Too fuckin' long for you to worry about."

This was a bad idea. A very bad idea. He needed to convince her of that and then head for his tent to take care of his needs on his own. Grabbing her upper arms, he meant to push her away from him. But as his fingers tightened around her arms, she practically purred in his ear, pressing herself fully up against him.

His double-crossing body reacted in kind to having a warm, lithe, though fully clothed, female body pushed against him. "Maggie," he growled, a warning tone, as he moved her until her back hit the side of the barn that she had leaned against just moments before.

"Afraid you can't handle me?" she asked, before her brain demanded to know what in the hell was in her breakfast this morning. Why the hell was she acting like this? Maybe it was just the length of time since a man touched her. Or the fact she had to give up her batteries for more sensible things like flashlights and her fingers were no longer cutting it. Or maybe it was the sinewy, muscular man who stood in front of her. Or some sort of combo of them all.

Daryl smiled down at her. She was playing with fire, and his body wanted to make her smolder. "Darlin' I think ya have that backwards." He pressed her back against the wall, his body tight against hers. She cried out softly as he rocked against her, the sensations building in her even though her body was still clothed. As her eyes closed, he could no longer restrain himself. Pushing her hair away, he reached for the back of her neck, as his mouth began kissing along the cord in her neck. His other hand found its way under the side of her shirt. Maggie arched into his hand, her body's muscles quivering as the calloused skin rubbed over where nothing harsher than cotton usually sat.

Her own hands found their way behind his back. One hand snuck up his shoulder, her fingers digging into damp strands of hair, encouraging him to continue kissing her down to the V of her shirt. Her other hand found its way up his arm, her hand laying flat against his, insistently guiding his fingers to curl around her breast.

What started out as soft almost ladylike moans, suddenly became deep-throated groans as his hand dug its way into the cup of her bra, seeking her nipple. He wasn't very gentle to begin with but the way his rough fingers twisted the bud between them, Maggie felt the fire building in her stomach jump to impossible heights. Daryl chuckled against her skin as her fingers flexed tightly against his scalp, nails scraping.

"Fuck," she gasped, head her head swam.

"Mhm," he drawled, the promise skidding across her sensitive skin as he ripped the shirt over her head. As he let the cotton slip from his fingers, she reached behind her, and loosened her bra. She tightened her upper arms, trapping the bra where it was. Watching him watching her hands, she crossed them over herself, pushing the straps down her arms. As the elastic hit her elbows, she paused keeping her arms crossed over her breasts.

Daryl actually growled, deep and throaty as their eyes met, the corner of her bottom lip trapped between her teeth. Skidding his hand up her stomach, he reached under her arms and pulled at the bra, yanking it from her body. Maggie playfully yelped as he pushed her back against the rough hewn walls, his mouth wrapping around a nipple. Arching into his mouth, Maggie curled her fingers around his jaw, allowing the stubble to tickle her fingers, encouraging him to continue.

She felt his hands move from her sides, down to the button on the top of her pants. With very little pretense, he had them open, with one hand palming her through her panties. Maggie gasped louder, as Daryl hummed around her nipple, sending new waves of sensation through her, cascading between his mouth and his hand. He did not even have move the material out of the way, he could feel how hot, how wet she was.

He smiled against her skin as he moved to lavish attention on her other breast. "Enjoy the show?" he asked, a finger straining against the material over her entrance.

Maggie could only whimper, arching her hips toward him. "Please," she whispered. If his head wasn't so close to her mouth he might have missed it. The need in her voice was unmistakable. She did not need any more of anything but him inside her, and fast. Her hands moved from his body and pushed her pants, sending them to the ground. Daryl straightened, and pulled one of her legs up and over his hip, pulling it free from her pant leg. Since there was only a few inches difference between them, he needed to do little to align their bodies. Staring into her eyes, he hooked a finger under the fabric of her panties and swiftly pushed up into her.

She grasped, her head falling back against the wall behind her. Her hands grabbed at his hips, keeping him still for a second. She was wetter than she ever remembered being but that didn't mean it wasn't going to take her a second to adjust. Daryl flexed his hips once, and her nails dug into his skin, as she hissed. "Fuck," she growled. "You... God." He moved his hips again, slightly, a wicked grin plastered on his face as he felt her tighten around him.

"Ya can call me Daryl."

Maggie opened her eyes, a matching smirk filled her face. Her hips moved up, insisting he do something, anything. He didn't need to be told twice. One hand still hooked around her knee, keeping her leg trapped against his hip, the other palm flat on the wall by Maggie's head. His thrusts started out slow and deep. It didn't take him very long to find the angle and depth drew the loudest moans, her fingers curling hard against his hip.

She felt herself spiraling fast, headed quickly into the abyss. Her eyes clenched shut, her hands pulling him tighter against her as he fucked her up into the wall. He felt her tense, her muscles coaxing him to fuck her faster, harder.

And with a wail that probably woke everyone in the camp, she came. She shuttered in his arms, and felt his thrusts become more erratic, harder as he drove deeper into her. They leaned their foreheads against the other's shoulders, their pants filling the small spaces between their chests. They breathed in each other's moans, and before she realized it Maggie was coming again.

"Atta girl," Daryl snarled, a moment before he followed her. He pushed up hard once, then again before stars flew behind his eyes and he bellowed his release into her neck.

They stood like that for a few moments, trying to suck air back into their lungs. Daryl pressed hard against her, the wall the only thing holding them upright. He dropped her leg and pulled back slightly. Maggie whimpered as he pulled out, and moved to lean against the wall next to her.

"Fuck," he muttered.

Maggie could only nod her head as she slid her panties back into place, her brain no longer functioning. Her tingling fingers had trouble adjusting the cotton, and she gasped as she felt his hot hand against her. "Needin' some help?" His breath on her ear, her cheek pressing against his mouth. He pushed one finger into her folds, the digit seeking the small nub at the top of her pussy. Her legs jumped, her body already super sensitive Weakly she grabbed at his wrist. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Helpin," he informed her as he pinched her clit, his mouth nipping at her collarbone.

 


	6. Flashback Continued- Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Flashback smut continues apparently. A huge thank you to Annelisa for fielding my questions all day as I worked this all out.

"Has anyone seen Maggie?"

 _Shit_. She pulled the blanket over her head, as if her dad would be staring in Daryl's tent while looking for her. His voice was over by the campfire, probably talking to Carol, or Lori. She heard the murmur of conversation, but no one had an answer for Hershel.

Maggie rubbed a hand over her face, and curled into a tighter ball. She certainly did not intend to fall asleep in here. Hell she didn't intend for alot of what happened last night. God what had she done? Repeatedly? She felt herself blush as she replayed a few moments from the night before, up against the barn, against the fence, against the large oak tree just outside of the camp, and finally in Daryl's tent.

Maggie let out a yelp as she felt an unexpected hand wrap around her ankle. Flipping the blanket off her head she shot a dirty look at the smirking hunter crouched just inside the closed and  _ **ZIPPED**_ tent door. How the hell did he do that? He wasn't in here a few minutes ago.

"Ya gonna hide in here all day?" he asked, settling his crossbow to the side, his hand moving up her calf, bunching the blanket further up her leg.

Maggie tried to jerk away from his warm touch. But Daryl wasn't letting go. She sat up, and slapped at his wrist which was now on the inside of her knee and tantalizingly creeping higher up her thigh.

"I'm not hiding," she said through clenched teeth.

"No?" he asked a serious twinkle in his eye that Maggie didn't like one speck. He reached behind him, his finger tugging on the zipper on the door. "Then I should go let your daddy know where ya are. Man's awful worried about ya."

Maggie froze. "You wouldn't fucking dare."

She didn't think it was remotely possible but that smirk actually got smirkier. "You would think you woulda learned what sassing me gets ya." His hand had found what he was looking for, and he leaned over to kiss her neck, his strong hand demanding entrance between her thighs.

Maggie pushed at him. "My dad-" her eyes wide and looking toward the window.

"Was headed back to the house before I came in here," he muttered against her skin, his teeth nipping at her collar bone.

Maggie rolled on her back, finally relaxing enough to let his hand between her thighs. "You coulda woke me up before you went hunting you know?" She let out a small whine as his rough fingers found her sore nub. Her hand caught his forearm, his touch was too much for her, after all the attention she received last night, it was too intense. Her thighs squeezed around his hand and she pulled him away, letting the hot palm settle on her hip.

For being a man that some accused of being slow on the uptake, Daryl let her guide his a hand away from her clit, and allow his hands wander over her skin. "Why'd I wanna do that? I'd rather find ya here when I got back." He arched his hips against her thigh, letting her feel what she was doing to him.

Maggie closed her eyes and ran her hands through his hair, as he pushed the blanket fully off of her. Sitting back slightly, Daryl looked at the woman laying on his sleeping bag. He had seen everything last night, but now in the light of the day, Daryl was able to see just how gorgeous this woman was. The soft curves that his hands all but memorized last night, the dark color of her nipples, the hard little nubs begging for his attention.

Her hand cupping on the side of his face, brought his cloudy blue eyes up to her green ones. She looked almost embarrassed at his attention, a sheepish smile on her face. She sat up, tucking her knees to her chest as she leaned in to kiss him. She couldn't help herself. Last night she got the message loud and clear he was not comfortable with kissing, though he didn't offer a reason and she didn't ask. But the way he looked at her naked body, made her feel so vulnerable, she needed to kiss him.

Daryl tensed, like a rabbit, ready to bolt, as he realized what she was intent on doing. Their lips were centimeters apart when he reached up and cupped her cheek, mirroring her touch, his fingers wrapping around the back of her neck, tangling in the soft waves of her hair. It had been so long since he kissed someone. A long, long while. He felt his heart about pound out of his chest.

"This ok?" she whispered, her lips gently brushing against his as she spoke. As much as she needed this, she didn't want to freak him out. She would take this whatever it was that was between them however he wanted to give it to her. But she needed to kiss him, and she was going to wait for him to kiss her.

With unbelievably heartbreaking slowness, she felt his mouth seal over hers. The breath that Maggie was holding stayed trapped in her lungs as his lips pulled back slightly, his head turning the opposite direction before kissing her again, gently. After the fuck up against the wall of the barn, she would have never have assumed he could be this gentle. Though she should have known there was some gentleness in him after watching him talk to Boober.

Maggie's fingers tightened against his jaw as she opened her mouth and lightly licked at his sealed kiss. He jerked back enough to move his mouth from hers, and across her cheek. He had tried to make it seem smooth but the yank away from her was nothing but jarring. Maggie sighed, and figured that was all she was going to get out of him, and she would have to be satisfied with that.

Daryl's mouth blazed a quick path down her neck, and over her collarbone. His hands reached up and unhooked her arms from around her legs. Nipping and licking down between her breasts, Daryl encouraged her to lay back down. Maggie grabbed his arms, and pulled him with her, so he was laying flush to her side, still in the clothes he put on to go hunting that morning. His hand ghosted over her side and curled around her hip. She arched herself up to his mouth, as his lips, teeth and stubble set her body on fire. She tangled her hand in his hair and leaned up and placed a kiss on the top of his head. He smelled like so many things all at once. Outside, sweat, sex, sin, the woods, and something she couldn't quite place.

He moved and settled himself between her legs which Maggie gladly opened for him. She pressed her pelvis up tight to his flannel shirt, grinding her naked sel against him as best she could. She smiled at the thought that they were the completely opposite as their first encounter last night.

A not-so-small bite on her hip bone brought her attention back to the present. She grasped as his tongue swirled around the wound, his lips sucking slightly. She looked down at him, and found his eyes on hers as he scraped his chin lower, deliberately slow. God those eyes of his were her undoing. She swore if he stared at her any longer, she would come just from that, without a single touch.

Daryl snuck his tongue out and trailed it over the top of her pussy and then dipped it down and found her clit. With a gasp that was entirely too loud to her ears, Maggie wrapped both hands in his hair and willed herself to stay still as his velvet tongue lapped at her again. It was so much better than his finger, she was still sore and sensitive but the softness of his tongue was just enough to make her body swirl. She neither pulled him toward her nor pushed him away. She simply curled her fingers in his hair, scraping nails across his scalp as he continued to swipe that beautiful tongue. For a brief second she marveled at the fact he wouldn't use that wicked tongue against hers, but he would do this.

Her thoughts came to a halt as she felt two fingers slide inside of her. Her gasps became whimpers as he hooked the digits up and curled them along the front wall of her pussy, coaxing the spot he had found last night with such startling accuracy, as if he and she had been lovers for years. Her gasps began shifted into a whine and Daryl grabbed for the closest piece of cloth, and pushed his spare shirt against her face. "Ya are gonna bring ta whole camp over 'ere in about two seconds," he muttered.

"Thinking high of yourself, aren't you?" she mumbled as she pressed the shirt against her face, holding it down with her forearm as she rocked against his mouth.

It may not have been 2 seconds but it certainly was not more than a minute before Maggie's thighs tightened around Daryl's ears and her body went rigid. He heard her muffled high-pitched squeal, as he flicked his tongue lazily over her, his fingers slowly moving inside of her, making her buck with each swipe.

Finally Maggie couldn't take it any longer, she reached out, pressed her hand against his forehead. "No," she whispered into the shirt, too muffled for him to hear. He did get her meaning though and he backed off. She uncovered her face to find him licking his fingers clean.

"'M not sure I've e'er tasted a sweeter pussy," he confessed, wiping his wet fingers on his jeans. Maggie blushed. Goddamn it, she blushed. The man had spent most of the previous night fucking her into any surface they could press against, and he just finished going down on her, and now she blushed at the mention of her taste.

"C'mere," she muttered, gesturing for him to lay beside her. She leaned up and began to kiss down his neck, working her way down to his chest, and started to unbutton his shirt.

"Honey," he drawled. "If ya are lookin' ta just return ta favor, my shirt ain't gonna get ya there." He moved one of her hands over his hardened length in his jeans. Maggie appreciated the urgency in his voice, and moved down to unfasten his belt. Together they made short work of his pants, not really needing to get them any further down his legs than his knees for what she had in mind. With a wicked grin that he decided he could grow to love waking up next to, Daryl watched Maggie grab his cock in her fist and lick it from the base to the tip. He closed his eyes and his hand tangled in her hair. Pushing down, he guided her mouth over him. With an arch of his hips, he felt his cock hit the back of her throat and she swallow around it. Goddamn, she felt incredible. He knew he was pressing his luck but he pushed her head back down again as she drew up to the tip and swirled her tongue around the head. And Maggie complied. One of the things she had to admit about sex with Daryl was she knew what he wanted, without being told, without too much pretense. The man knew what he wanted and was not shy about showing her.

As the tip of his cock hit the back of her throat, she swallowed, making him hiss and arch up, pushing a little further into her throat. It wasn't too much for her yet, but if he got too demanding, she was going to have trouble breathing. She decided to switch gears and moved to straddle his hips.

Daryl grabbed her arms and drug her to lay down on his chest. "Watchin' ya fuck me sounds fuckin' fantastic," he admitted. "But ya are going to be puttin' a show on fer ta rest of ta camp." His eyes flicked to the opened tops of the windows.

Without another word, he turned them so she was on her back, and he was tucked between her sprawled legs, and he thrust up into her. Maggie moaned loudly, and Daryl did the only thing he could think of to keep her noises down. He pressed his lips over hers, and swallowed each of her noises. The intensity of the kiss rocked him to his core as he fucked her. Maggie's kiss made him see stars. Could have been the amount of time since he last kissed someone but he doubted it. The way her mouth and tongue played over his he knew he wasn't going to last too much longer.

He hooked one of her legs up and over his shoulder and she hissed at the angle change. It wasn't long after that she tensed under him and the wail from deep in her chest filled his mouth. With one more sharp thrust, Daryl answered her with his own.

They lazily kissed as they both came back down to earth, their bodies tangled, their limbs seemingly tossed in every direction. "Jesus," Maggie muttered as she drew in a shaky breath. "You could spoil a girl," she admitted.

Daryl rolled off of her with his signature smirk. "Wouldn't get too comfy wit it, sweets," he admitted. "Don't exactly mean we are going steady." He yanked his pants up, and fastened his belt.

 _That was a hell of a buzz-kil_. Maggie scowled at him. "What?"

"Nothing," he shrugged. "Just don't want ya thinking this is some sort of permanent somethin', is all. Layin' groundwork, as Merle says." Daryl kicked himself as he said it. Open mouth, insert foot. The Dixon motto.

Grabbing up his crossbow, Daryl was out of the door before Maggie could say another word.


	7. Fight Or Flight

Laying in bed, staring at the barest of morning light across the ceiling, listening to Glenn's soft snores, Maggie let her mind wander. She thought back over the past 4 months.

They had come along way since the two groups melded together. And no matter how hard her dad had tried to keep them separate, the two had become one, even before Shane took it upon himself to clean out the barn. In the end, each side had lost people and developed bonds for each other.

And people had changed. They all had, they all needed to to continue to survive. They needed to evolve. She noticed this more so with Daryl. Maybe she noticed his changes more because of how he had abruptly ended things between them, that morning in his tent. It didn't take a psychologist to figure out Daryl Dixon had a whole mess of issues, including a very real fear of intimacy. He all but set up a neon sign over his campsite reading those very words when he moved his tent away from the rest.

But whether he wanted to admit it or not, Daryl had changed, and for the better in Maggie's estimation. The Daryl who showed up on their doorsteps would not have handled the news of her pregnancy as well as this one was. Not that he had handled it perfectly, but she hadn't either. But him coming to tell her he would flat out back her decisions was more than she could have asked for and she honestly hoped it was a start of a friendship between them. This child needed both of its parents.

And Maggie needed as much support as she could get. She was honestly scared. On many levels. She was scared for the baby. Bringing a child into this world seemed unfathomable and cruel. There was a very good chance she and the baby wouldn't survive the birth, especially with their lack of medical supplies. And that didn't take into account all the hundreds of other things that could go wrong with the pregnancy before she even reached full term. The more she read, the more scared she became of all the possibilities.

Then there was her relationship with Glenn. Maggie was scared of how he was going to react to the news. She had to tell him the child was not his, she had little choice. And that broke her heart. She truly loved him, and wouldn't hurt him for the world. But this, this was going to be hard for him, and nothing she could do would change that. That hurt more than anything else.

Glenn woke up to the feeling of the bed moving, shakes emanating from the other side of the bed. He reached out for Maggie. "You ok?" he asked, rolling her onto her back. "What's going on, baby?"

Maggie took one look at Glenn's concerned face and the tears refused to cease. "I have to tell you something," she whispered, her voice soft.

It broke Glenn's heart to see her this way. "Whatever it is..."

"I'm pregnant."

The phrase hung in the air for a second. If he was completely honest, Glenn wasn't terribly surprised. He had noticed her being sick, and her lack of appetite for anything resembling meat. She couldn't even be around it being cooked without bolting. She was constantly having to pee, even though from what he could tell her water consumption had not increased. Glenn had also half realized her boobs had gotten bigger, her nipples seemed super sensitive to anything touching them at times. She was also a emotional roller coaster. He had originally chalked those last two up to a whacked out body cycle because of the stress their current environment had them in. He was sure he read that somewhere. Or been told that. Or something.

Glenn leaned over and kissed Maggie softly. "Really?" He kicked himself for his response.  _You idiot. You just ran down the list of all her symptoms and you ask her 'really?'?_

Maggie half smiled and bit her bottom lip and sat up. "Yeah. But..." she shifted slightly, her eyes landing on everything else in their room

A lead weight hit the bottom of Glenn's stomach. That could mean any number of things. He swallowed hard around the fear in his throat. "Tell me, please. We will figure it out. We always do." Glenn tried like hell to sound reassuring, but concern and a bit of fear tinged his voice.

Maggie's fingers laced through his and she squeezed her hand gently. "It's... It's.." the words died on her tongue. How in the world was she going to tell him? Maggie closed her eyes, and turned her head from him. "It's not...Crap.". She took a deep breath, which only gave her time for a new onslaught of tears. "Its not yours," she whispers so softly that Glenn was certain he didn't hear her right.

"What?" he asked, one hand still holding hers, the other reaching up to brush away her tears.

Maggie's eyes opened, searching his. "It's not yours."

"How-" the question failed. He licked his lips again. "Who-" that one didn't work out so well either. Not his? Who's then?

Maggie made a small sobbing noise pulling herself into a ball against the wall at the top of the bed. "I'm sorry."

"Wait. Wait." Glenn waved his hands, trying to clear the air, trying to figure this out. "How is it not mine?" he was trying to be calm, surely she had an explanation. Although what that might be Glenn couldn't imagine.

She wiped at her eyes again and pulled a book out of the top drawer of the table next to the bed. She opened it to a marked page and showed it to him. "What to expect at the beginning of the second trimester-4 to 6 months."

His eyes glanced down the symptoms, the 4th month list seeming to fit every last detail of the changes he had witnessed in Maggie of late. But Glenn was still confused. "But we've been here for 4 months," he insisted.

Maggie nodded. And she waited for him to put the prices together for himself. "So..." he continued to stare at the book, at the list. And he was not getting what she was trying to tell him. He looked up at her, silently begging for an explanation.

"You have been here for 4 months," she conceded. "But this-" she waved a hand between them. "Has not been going on for 4 months."

Ok Glenn was officially confused. There was never any mention from any one that even hinted at a boyfriend before his group showed up. "Did you have a someone before we got here? Was he killed?" His face turned to absolute horror. "He wasn't one of the barn-"

Maggie cut him off, laying a hand on his arm. "No." God this was harder than she realized it was going to be. She took a steadying breath and let it out slowly.

"Maggie, you're scaring me."

Her eyes opened and met his. Unshed tears stung in her eyes. "Daryl..." her voice failed all together at the look in Glenn's eyes.

* * *

Daryl had steadied himself for the blow. He knew it was coming from the second he heard the front door slam and he saw Glenn heading, no storming, in his direction. Hell Daryl knew the punch was coming since Maggie told him she was pregnant.

Realizing his morning hunt was going to have to be postponed for a bit, he set his crossbow to the side, and carefully slipped his hunting knife out of its sheath, tossing it through the open door of his tent. He hadn't even straightened up when Glenn's fist connected with his jaw.

"Son of a bitch," Glenn swore, as he stepped forward, his fist raised again.

Daryl clenched his teeth against the pain and raised up to catch the other man's fist as it flew forward again. "Ya only get one, kid." Daryl's grip tightened as Glenn struggled to free his hand. "Knock it ta hell off." Daryl grabbed his other fist as easily as he caught the first one. The older man's eyes flicked towards the movement over Glenn's shoulder. Rick and Shane were jogging toward them, each pulling on shirts, belts undone. This little squabble apparently woke the whole camp, he thought uncharitablly, as Andrea and Dale closed in behind the two cops. Daryl also noted Maggie walking down the stairs of the house, her dad's hand on her shoulder.

"This how ya wanna tell them?" he asked, his voice quiet but still rough. Looking back at the stampede of others, Glenn relaxed enough to allow Daryl to shove the man back several feet.

Glenn's eyes flashed back onto him, anger not lessening. Daryl saw the movement before Glenn probably even comprehended what his body was doing. The older man put a hand in front of him, steeling himself. "Don't."

Glenn didn't heed any of the warnings and launched himself at Daryl's midsection, sending them both to the ground with a puff of dust.

"Come on! Knock it off," Rick yelled as he and Shane pulled Glenn away. Glenn stopped struggling just long enough for the men to let go of him. His eyes never leaving the man on the ground, he charged again. Rick and Shane stopped him cold, both grabbing one of Glenn's arms, walking him backwards a few steps, giving everyone some breathing room.

Andrea walked around them and offered a hand down to Daryl. With a nod, he stood, brushing himself off.

"Ya gonna tell us just what the hell is going on?" Rick demanded, looking at Daryl.

Daryl only snorted and squinted towards Glenn. "Talk ta this 'n. He's ta 'n throwin' ta punches." He jerked out of Andrea's reach as she tried to touch the bruise forming on his cheek.

Rick and Shane both looked at Glenn. They knew he wasn't stupid enough to jump their resident redneck without some sort of reasoning. Glenn met Daryl's eyes, he saw the questioning look, and heard the question Daryl asked just before the cavalry arrived. He finally answered the question with a shake of his head. "No," he said so softly.

"No?" Rick asked.

Glenn let all the anger, all of the emotion in his body go. He looked dejected and hurt. Rick was thrown for a loss of how to respond, and a quick look at his best friend told him the other man was just as clueless.

Maggie and her dad arrived at the little scene. She looked as uncomfortable as Glenn did as her eyes met Daryl's. He gave her a slight, almost unnoticeable nod.

"Glenn," she said softly, reaching a hand out.

The man jerked out of her way and headed back toward the camp, head down. Rick and Shane exchanged another set of quiet glances. The pieces quickly coming together for them, even if some of the details were still very fuzzy. They both turned to look at Daryl, who refused to look them in the eye, he was focused on Maggie's tears.

_So damn complicated._

His fingers twitched, wanting to reach out to her, and comfort her. He wanted to make this all better for her, somehow. But he had done more than enough to help her out in this situation already, didn't he? he thought himself.

Andrea moved from his side, and walked to Maggie, wrapping an arm around the crying woman, leading her back to the house. Rick gave Daryl one more questioning glance that was met with stony silence. He in turn nodded to Shane to follow him back to camp.

Hershel stayed back as the rest of the group headed off. He watched his daughter head up the stairs, being swept up in a hug from her little sister.

Turning, Hershel met the haunted blue eyes that scowled at him. "Whut?" Daryl asked, agitation clearly the foremost emotion riding through him. He knew he was gonna get a talkin' to, almost as sure as he had been Glenn was going to hit him. He was almost glad they were coming at the same time. Gave him the chance to stop fretting over what Maggie's daddy and boyfriend were gonna do to him when they found out and move onto whatever the next step was in store for them in this increasingly difficult situation.

"Whut, old man?" he asked, baiting Hershel into talking.

Stepping forward, Hershel forced Daryl to step back. "I ain't lookin to fight the whole goddamn village here, Pops."

Hershel showed Daryl his palms, arms extended, a universal symbol for "I mean you no harm," one he used often with spooked animals. "Maggie and Glenn told me what's going on this morning," he continued. "And I can't say I like what has happened but what's done is done." Daryl just nodded, and reached for his crossbow, slinging it across his back, wanting to escape from this shit as quickly as possible.

Hershell watched him grab for his knife. "I just wanted you to know I have a newfound respect for you, son."

Ok Daryl was confused, really confused. He had fucked Hershel's daughter 6 ways to Sunday and knocked her up in the process. And then did a damn fool thing by insisting she best not get attached to him. And Hershel had a newfound respect for him. How exactly did that fucking work?

The older man gave him a half of a smile, reading the emotions that played across Daryl's face. "Your willingness to stand by her in this shows me you aren't the same man who rolled up here 4 months ago on his bike."

Daryl gave him a sharp nod of thanks and slipped his knife back in its sheath. He was more than ready to head out on his own for awhile. "She's gonna need you," Hershel continued. "She's gonna need all of us."


	8. Orchard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Glenn turns to Rick for some advice

Glenn was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Actually multiple rocks and multiple hard places. He needed to get out of camp. He needed to get away from everyone else. He needed to put some distance between him and Maggie. And he needed to get away from Daryl.

But he had nowhere to go. He had taken his tent down months ago when he moved into Maggie's bedroom in the house. It became surplus goods and probably had been picked over by the others if they needed stuff for their own dwellings. Glenn couldn't well hold up in Maggie's room. He could but that certainly wouldn't get him away from her to think.

He wanted to bolt, wanted to get out of the camp to get his head screwed on straight and figure this all out. But leaving camp without your head screwed on straight was a sure fire way to get yourself killed.

He was fucked.

He was fucked in so many ways. He did not know how to deal with Maggie's news, even a little. And he realized that fighting with Daryl was the wrong way to go, even before he left the house looking for the man. He was an idiot.

Glenn felt a hand on his shoulder, and he jumped away from the tree he was leaned against at the edge of the camp. "Jesus," he swore as he looked up at Rick's concerned face.

"You ok, man?"

Glenn tried to put on a brave face. "Yeah, everythings fine."

Rick didn't need his cop training to know Glenn was lying. Even if he hadn't just witnessed the fight between him and Daryl, he would have been able to figure out that something was up. "I'm going for a walk," Rick offered, weakly. "Out to the orchards to see if anything is ready to be picked."

It was a bald face lie. Nothing in Herschel's orchard was going to be ready anytime soon and if it was, Carol and Maggie would know that, not Rick. But Glenn could see where the man was going, and he was grateful for the effort. Rick knew he needed to get out, and was giving him a safe option. The orchard was not that far from the camp, would maybe have one or two stray walkers if that, and no one else would be there. And Rick would watch out for him.

"Yeah," Glenn conceded to the unasked question and turned toward Rick. The older man smiled at him, handing him his crowbar and hat.

"Need anything else?"

Glenn shook his head, not allowing himself to look at Rick in the face. With another clap on Glenn's shoulder, the two started toward the orchard. They walked in silence, which Glenn was also grateful for. He needed to figure this all out, but he didn't want to get anyone else involved, didn't want to cause any more problems for Maggie.

Tears that had been held at bay all morning found their way into his eyes and he irritatedly wiped at them with the back of his hand before Rick could see. Glenn loved Maggie, that much he did know, of all the rest of it, that much he was positive. The rest of this was however was nothing short of a tornado in his mind. He didn't know which way was up.

"Wanna talk?" Rick's voice cut through his fog. Glenn stole a look at the man walking next to him. He was half surprised to find Rick looking around, and not at him. He was doing just what he promised he would do, keep him safe. And he was looking out of his sanity.

Glenn just shook his head. "No."

"'k. Let me know when that changes," Rick offered softly. There was no harshness in the statement, nothing demanding, nothing but concern and support. It was an honest, heartfelt statement. Rick was not going to push Glenn to talk about anything but he was willing to listen if that's what the younger man needed.

Glenn nodded and looked down at his feet, letting his head fill again with the whirlwind of thoughts.

Maggie was pregnant. This he could deal with, the group could deal with. A baby was a wonderful thing, even in the times they were living. It would be hard, it would be a difficult journey for Maggie with the limited access they had to proper medical personnel. Hershell would do what he could for his daughter, but his view was going to be more clouded than a normal doctor, because of his bias. And up until now all of his births had been equine, bovine and canine. There was one small bright side in the thought that Lori would give birth before Maggie, giving Hershel and probably the rest of the women a warm up.

Glenn had a limited experience with pregnant women and birth. What little he knew, he probably had gotten from the movies and TV shows. Women giving birth in the back of taxi cabs, on deserted islands after a plane crash, in hospital beds surrounded by her loved ones and lots of drugs. But he was sure it was probably a lot more horrifying than that. He was certain of it. And that scared him almost as much as facing a herd of walkers.

Then there was the raising of the child would be fraught with perils and trials, even with the group's best efforts and intent. The group was still reeling from the loss of Sophia. They couldn't keep a 12 year old safe, how were they going to keep an infant alive long enough to grow into a 12 year old?

Glenn yanked the hat off of his head and ran a hand through his hair. He stole another glance at Rick and realized the man was leading them back up another row of the orchard. He was giving Glenn all the time he needed, and that hit the younger man hard. Rick cared for everyone in the group. Everyone had turned into family in his estimation. And he did his best to support them all. But seeing this individual attention from their leader was almost too handle for Glenn. He didn't deserve this. He was being a damn fool, and he needed to get over himself. The whole group needed Rick's focus, not just Glenn. And Glenn didn't know how to voice it. He didn't know how to voice anything of any of what he was feeling.

"Maybe we should head back," Glenn offered.

"That was the fastest soul searching I've ever seen," Rick teased, stopping and looking at Glenn, treating him to small smile. "Got it all worked out, do you?"

Glenn huffed a small laugh. "Fuck no. Haven't even started."

"Then let's keep walking."

"But-"

Rick stopped again, and turned toward Glenn. He reached out both hands to grasp the younger man's shoulders. "No buts Glenn. You look like you are about to break in two, and head for the hills. We can't have that. I can't have that."

"But the others-"

Rick actually felt his heart swell a little, a bit of pride he usually only felt for Carl. "They will be fine without us, man. Shane and T know where we are. And we aren't that far out that if something happens they can't find us." Silence fell open between them, and Glenn squirmed under Rick's attention. "Ok?"

Glenn nodded and began walking again. "Thanks"

Rick only nodded and continued to walk up the row of apple trees, at least what he thought were apple trees. You would think growing up in rural Georgia he would be able to tell fruit trees from one another.

Glenn's brain didn't stray too much from the group. The group was all he had, outside of Maggie. And hell if he wouldn't do anything he could to protect them, keep them safe. And here he was with a problem that was liable to rip the heart out of the group. The one secure tie the two groups shared was him and Maggie. He would have been kidding himself if he didn't know Maggie's soft spot for him was the reason Hershell let them stay a hell of alot longer than the older man had intended. And now they were no longer two groups, they were one big group.

He sighed when he reminded himself they now had another tie between the group. Maggie and Daryl's baby. Just thinking the phrase made him angry and sick to his stomach all at the same time. And the rational portion of his brain couldn't fathom why.

He took a deep breath and headed down that alley full of shadows and hurts.

Logically, Maggie and Daryl had had sex shortly after the group arrived at Hershell's farm. It was well before Glenn had any claim to the woman, over a month before he even kissed her the first time. Daryl and Maggie were consenting adults, consenting adults with needs the same as him.

His stomach clenched, casting aside the logic for a bit, dwelling on the hurt that was there. A bit of dialog from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade came up in his mind. Indy and his dad were talking about the female lead, which they both slept with. "Well, I'm as human as the next man." "Dad, I  **was**  the next man."

Glenn had limited experience with women before the end of the world, had a handful of girlfriends since college and a one night stand or two. But never had he run into this. Never had he slept with someone one of his buddies slept with. And he wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel about it.

"How do you deal with knowing Shane slept with Lori?" he asked before his brain could catch up with him. Glenn's voice startled Rick. Then his question startled Rick. "Shit," Glenn said as his brain realized what his mouth had just done. "I'm sorry-"

Stopping, Rick waved a hand at him as he wiped the other hand over his face. "It's ok." Glenn could see the wheels in Rick's mind, almost as if he himself didn't know how to deal with his own situation. "So Maggie did sleep with Daryl." It was a statement, not a question, but Rick still looked at Glenn, his eyebrows arched questioningly.

"And its complicated," Glenn assured him, not wanting to delve into any more details than that.

"Ain't it always," Rick said softly. "Wanna give me the cliff notes version?"

"Not sure it should be coming from me."

"You're the one I'm worried about right now. Maggie's got her family. And Daryl's got.. well his squirrels."

Glenn let out a snort of laughter, which felt good for a brief second. It also told Rick something he needed to know. Glenn was upset with Maggie and Daryl but he wasn't so pissed off that he was past being Glenn. And that was a good thing. A very good thing.

"So." Rick prompted.

Glenn started walking, staring at his feet. "So." Taking a deep breath, he finished telling Rick the basic story. When he was done, the two of them could only look at each other, the similarities to their tales not lost on either of them. The biggest difference was the other men involved.

"Well then," Rick started, rubbing the back of his neck, suddenly unsure if he was the best man to be giving Glenn advice on women. "Do you love her?"

"'Course I do, Rick. Would be a whole lot easier if I didn't."

Rick let out a humorless snort. "Jesus aren't we just ripe for a Dr. Phil episode."

"I was thinking Jerry Springer myself."

Laughter filled the air as they both saw chairs flying and swears and paternity tests in their heads. The part that made Glenn laugh the hardest was the fact that of all the fist flying he saw, it was Shane and Daryl getting into it more than anyone else just on account. God it felt good to laugh for a minute.

The two men walked headed up another row of trees, they were all starting to look the same to Rick. "Well, son. You want the view from outside?"

"Yes please," the younger man admitted. He was so trapped in his own head, he knew he was missing something.

"Maggie loves you," Rick started with the obvious first. "And Daryl. Don't think this has to be easy for him. We all know how he feels about family. He has two options, as near as I can tell. Claim that baby as his, or let the world think it is yours. And neither is probably sitting very well with him."


	9. Bruises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little jump about a month from where we left our heroes.

 

Maggie purposely moved toward where Daryl was chopping wood. She watched him lift the axe and with one smooth stroke split the wood in half. Reaching for another piece to split, he noticed her standing there. He nodded once in acknowledgement, before placing the piece on the chopping block. He raised the ax again, and split the wood.

Daryl was reaching for another piece when Maggie stepped closer to him. Hooking a hand under the front of his shirt, he ducked his face, rubbing it against the shirt tail to wipe the stinging sweat from his eyes.

"Somethin' up?" he asked, noticing the anxious, wide-eyed look on her face. Instead of answering, Maggie stepped into his personal space and reached for the hand not wrapped around the axe.

"Hey," Daryl grouched, moving to yank his hand from her grasp.

"Stop it," she whispered with a disapproving look on her face. He relaxed in her grip, and allowed her to move his hand where she wanted. When he realized he was placing it under the hem of her shirt, his heart sped up, his eyes flashing toward where the rest of the group could be, could see what she was doing. "Relax," she admonished, pressing her hand against the back of his, pressing his palm against the side of the small bump that had either recently appeared or Daryl had just recently taken note of.

Daryl's brow puckered. "What the fu-" And he felt it. He looked at her face, and saw the broad grin, her whole face lighting up. He felt it again. It was like a light tickle under his palm. "Is that-"

The smile never leaving her eyes, Maggie bit her bottom lip and nodded. "Yeah, been doing it since breakfast."

"Holy shit," he muttered, allowing the axe to fall to the ground as his other hand came to rest on her stomach just above her belly button. "Wow." His smile, which Maggie couldn't remember seeing quite so wide before this moment, spread through his voice. "Does it hurt?" he asked suddenly concerned as the movement shifted. He allowed her moving their hands to follow.

"More like gas." Daryl looked at her horrified that she would use such a word to describe his child. "Well that's what it kinda feels like," she laughed. "I don't know what else to equate it to."

Maggie let go of his hands, and placed her hands in the small of her back, arching back slightly, eyes closed. She loved this time of the year. The late summer heat was finally subsiding, leaving the cooler breezes and the warm sunshine, a combination she had loved since she was way little.

Daryl watched Maggie as she lazily enjoyed the sunlight. He had heard of women glowing when they were pregnant, but he always thought it was horse shit. But damn if Maggie wasn't standing there just this side of sparkling. He could blame it on the sun's rays, but he knew it was the baby, their baby, that made her look like that. Her face upturned into the sun, the dark strands of her hair hanging loosely, just brushing her jaw. A small smile played at her features. He was damn sure he had never seen a woman as beautiful as she was right there, right now.

Her eyes popped open as his hands quickly disappeared from her skin. Daryl stepped back and picked up the axe he had dropped, looking suddenly very uncomfortable. He moved back to the chopping block, out of her arms reach. "Ya should go tell your dad," he suggested, gruffly, all warmth from his tone gone. "I'm sure Dr. Doolittle would be glad to hear about it."

The brush off was neither subtle nor kind. But if Maggie had learned nothing else from her dealings with Daryl, then when to cut and run when she saw the walls being built back up around him. Emotions were hard on them all, and since he had never learned it was ok to show positive ones, it was harder for him than anyone else. But she was determined to not let him shut her out completely, again. Though she wasn't sure if it wasn't for purely selfish reasons on her part.

* * *

Glenn's eyes narrowed in the dim light in their room, trying to figure out what the dark spots were on Maggie's stomach.

"You ok?" he asked, concerned. It looked like a light but sizable bruise forming around her naval. "Baby ok?"

"Huh?" Maggie paused putting her night shirt on and looked where he was his eyes were trained. "Oh. No." Glenn's eyes widened, and he started to come around the bed to her side. "I mean yes," she assured him, smiling widely, embarrassed. "Baby's fine. She brushed his hands away playfully, as she rubbed the shirt over the spots. "Daryl was feeling the baby move earlier, that's all."

When she looked up at him, Glenn looked a bit upset. Ok more than a little upset. His eyes and mouth looked pinched. "He did what?"

"The baby was moving earlier. His hands must have been dirty," she shrugged, rubbing her nightshirt, brushing the dried dirt from her skin.

Glen licked his lips as he watched her dress. "So the baby is moving? Which is news to me by the way." he said slowly, trying to work her logic through his brain. "And you go and share with Daryl first?"

Maggie bit her bottom lip, and looked at him with an uncertain glance. She nodded. "Well yeah. It is his baby," she stated softly.

Glenn ran his hand thru his hair, his other hand on his hip. "I'm aware. I'm very aware," he said in quiet sharp tone, reaching for the door.

"Glenn?"

The only response she got was the click of the door latching shut behind him.

Unsure of what just happened, Maggie only stood in stunned silence for a few minutes, lost in her own head as to what the hell was going on. She broke from her reverie when she realized there was a sudden increase in activity in the house. Everyone should be sleeping. What in the hell? She grabbed for her discarded pants and shirt as she heard raised voices. Dressing as quickly as possible she was doing up her laces when Glenn opened the door, a different emotion on his face.

"Herd."

* * *

FUCK! The group splintered like an ant hill getting hit with a bucket of water as the herd swept through the farm. And Daryl knew only where Carol was, she was hard to miss clinging to his back the way she was. Where the hell did the rest of them go? Daryl was kicking himself for not paying better attention, for not noting what had happened to Maggie and Glenn.

He suddenly found himself praying to a God he had long ago given up on, praying He'd keep an eye on the girl and the baby.

It was just after dawn when Daryl saw the answer to his prayers. An unbelievable wave of relief filled him when he spotted Shane's car. Actually the relief hit after he saw the familiar swish of brown hair in the passenger seat. The car had pulled to a stop just on the edge of the highway as if they were trying to figure out what to do now.

He revved that bike and headed in their direction. He stopped behind the car, and was pleased to see the two heads turn to look at him and Carol.

Maggie opened the door and looked back at the man on the triumph. Tears that were not very far from the surface, threatened to spill as their eyes met. Goddamn she was alive, and ok. His gut unwound three dozen knots.

She moved quickly toward the bike, only half noting he had a passenger. Daryl didn't move from his seat but he reached a hand out, lightly brushed his fingers over her belly. "Ya'll ok?" he asked, a gruff whisper.

Maggie bit her lip to keep the tears at bay. "We are fine."

Unthinking, Daryl's hand moved from her belly to cup the young woman behind the head and gently yank her head down til their foreheads were touching. He closed his eyes and swallowed around the lump in his throat. "Ya done good, Momma Bear. Not sure what I'd'a done if we lost you." He leaned up and kissed her forehead before letting her go.

The pieces that had all been floating in front of her eyes suddenly slammed home for Carol as she watched this very private moment between Daryl and Maggie. They had grown closer over the past month, and Carol had assumed it was due to her pregnancy, because he was worried about her and the baby, possibly a result of his inability to bring Sophia home safe. But it quickly became clear there was more to this than that.

Carol watched Glenn looking on, emotions on his face not hard to read, concern, anger, pain, weariness, and uncertainty. Carol had noticed a tense feeling between the two men since the fight out by Daryl's tent that one morning. She never did get the reasoning from anyone. Glenn was surprisingly tight lipped and Daryl was Daryl. She had prodded as well as she could but hit walls from both men. Maggie was equally unwilling to talk and Rick seemed to know what was going on but refused to fill in Lori or Shane, who knew little of what was up.

And now sitting quietly on the back of Daryl's bike, Carol was able to fit the pieces together, and finally have the full picture. Her hand snuck under his vest and laid flat against his side. She blinked back the tears, the pride she felt at how much this man had changed in such a short period of time.

 


	10. More Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again jumping just a little, probably about two weeks after they got to the prison. Maggie's about 7 months along. I know my timeline is wonky. I have not seen any of the 3rd season so I will be a little off.

Maggie fidgeted with the paring knife, cutting up the vegetables for the stew that she, Beth, and Carol were putting together for dinner. Daryl waltzed in, carrying freshly cleaned meat of some form. Looked like squirrels and a rabbit or two if Maggie could judge. Giving her a small nod, he grabbed a large prep pan from one of the shelves behind Carol and plopped the carcasses in the container. He slid it on the table opposite where they were working.

"Thanks," Carol said softly, a gentle smile in his direction as he headed to the sink to wash his hands. After he was done, Maggie caught his eye and he gave her a small smile before leaving the room.

"Is it ok if I head out for a minute?" Maggie asked Carol. "I need some air."

The older woman smiled knowingly. "]Yeah sure hon. We've got this."

Maggie quickly headed out of the kitchen and strode as quickly as her legs would carry her to catch up with the hunter. He was almost to the other cellblock when she finally found him.

"You've been avoiding me."

Daryl looked back at Maggie as she walked toward him, purposely. "Whut?" He wasn't avoiding her. "Whut are ya goin' on about, girl?" he tried to sound angry but the fierce look on her face made him scramble backwards, trying to get out of her way.

Maggie walked toward him until he backed into the wall, in the far corner of the cell block. Daryl watched her green eyes and he knew that look. He had seen it all those months ago, those eyes pleading with him to do dirty dirty things to her. He was hard before she even pressed herself against him.  _Fuckin' traitor of a body_ , he thought to himself. "We aint-"

She didn't listen, and pulled his head down, her mouth on his hard.

 _No, no, no, no!_  He wasn't supposed to react. He was not supposed to be kissing her back. He sure as hell was not supposed to be pushing his tongue into her mouth, gliding over her tongue, nor was his fist supposed to be knotted in her hair.

With a harsh breath, he pulled away from her. He opened his mouth to tell her this was stupid. She was with Glenn and this wasn't happening. No matter what they had done in the past, no matter who's baby was in her belly, this was the worse thing they could do.

Instead his eyes lingered on her perfect lips, puckered, and slightly swollen, and wet, probably by his own doing. And  _Jesus if that didn't just take the cake._

_Don't look at her eyes you mother fucker. Don't do it._

And he did. Their eyes met. And he was reaching for her, pulling her closer to him, as close as they could get with her swollen belly in the way. No not in the way, he corrected himself. It was an part of her, and was an incredibly sexy thing. He had found himself thinking of it on many nights in his bed, and while on watch letting his brain wander, and when he watched her do anything. That belly of hers was hot as hell, and was all his doing. His hips hitched forward, his erection brushing against her belly, making them both groan.

One hand stayed fisted in her hair at the base of her neck. The other spread across the hard warm side of her stomach as he plundered her mouth. She was sure it was mostly the hormones talking, but the feel of his hand sliding over her skin flooded her undies. Or would have flooded her panties if she was wearing any.

Maggie clawed at the bottom of his shirt, and yanked it open, buttons popping loose, buttons he couldn't afford to lose, but she didn't care. His ass could find new buttons or a new shirt next time he went on a run. She didn't care right now. She needed to feel his skin. She needed to feel his warmth against her. It had been far too long since she had been touched and her body felt like it was going to explode.

Daryl groaned into her mouth as he felt her fingers move up his chest, sliding the shirt off his shoulders. He did not want to move his hands, they were perfectly happy right where they were. With a huff of annoyance, he slung the shirt off his arms to the floor.

His fingers found their way under the shirt, his shirt, that she was wearing. None of Glenn's were big enough, so she had started wearing one of his to cover herself and keep warm in the cold prison. The only one left with sleeves. Watching her walk around in his shirt did not help the hotness factor at all.

Carefully he began unbuttoning the buttons, while Maggie whined impatiently in his mouth. "You just ruined one shirt," he gasped. "You wanna ruin boff shirts i got left?" Her response was hard bite on his collarbone where his shoulder met his neck. "Fuck me, you ain't playing fair," he groaned, his fingers seconds away from pulling the shirt apart, as she sucked his injured skin, running her tongue over it.

Finally he had the front of the shirt open and allowed his eyes to roam over her. Her breasts strained in a sports bra, her nipples hard and pressing through the material of the white bra. And the swell of her stomach... Daryl stepped forward, his hands both going to her stomach. He couldn't help himself, he had to touch her.

It made Maggie self-conscious the amount of attention he was giving her ever-expanding form. Glenn would hardly look at her belly, much less touch it. And here Daryl was practically worshipping that part of her. She forced herself to relax at his touch, her arm around his neck, as she reached up to kiss him again. "You are sexy as fuck," he muttered against her mouth, reading her mind.

"Yeah?"

"Fuck yeah," he groaned out. Taking one of her hands, he guided it over the prominent lump in his pants. "Sexy as sin, babydoll." Maggie smiled, and placed small playful kisses against his lips.

He ran his hands over her hips and up her waist. His fingers ghosted over her prominent ribs. "Damnit. Why ain't you eating more?" he groused against her skin.

"Only so much to go around," she shrugged it off.

Daryl pulled back and looked her in the eye. "Don't mean you need ta to be suffering."

"I get my share." She didn't want to talk about this right now. She wanted to get back to what they had started.

His hands ran up the back of her shirt, making her arch into his chest. "You'll get mine too. 'N Glenn's too after I kick his ass."

Maggie huffed and pulled away from him. "Can we not talk about Glenn right now?"

"Well he ain't taking care of any of my girl's needs."

 _My girl._  His girl. Lord if that phrase hit Maggie's brain and tumble-down through her body, fanning the fire already running through her veins. Glenn was a great man, and more than she could ever ask for in a partner, but something about Daryl claiming her as his made her whimper. Cupping her hand on his cheek, and meeting his eyes, Maggie leaned in and kissed him, hard, as their eyes still stayed connected.

Daryl thought he heard a clearing of a throat, but he couldn't bring himself to pull away from Maggie to see. It was when the not-so-subtle coughing fit echoed off the walls around them that he looked over his shoulder, finding Rick standing not 10 feet away, and looked uncomfortable as hell. Reaching up before he turned, Daryl held Maggie's shirt close in his fist, his hand sitting in the soft valley between her breasts and stomach.

Rick cleared his throat, and tried like hell to not look at Daryl's hand nor at Maggie wiping the back side of her hand against her mouth, a blush creeping up from the collar of her shirt. "You..." Rick rubbed the back of his neck. "I could hear you outside," he informed them in a disapproving, but yet indifferent tone. " And its none of my business, not even a little, but thought you would want to know Glenn is coming off watch in 10."

Daryl just nodded his thanks as Rick walked away. He turned back to Maggie as she tugged her shirt loose from his hand, buttoning it up. "Fuck," Daryl said succinctly.

"Not hardly," Maggie said grumpily.

"What ta hell was that all about?" he asked, reaching to pluck his shirt off the floor.

"I'm horny," she said.

"No, no. I got that." He cupped himself through his jeans. "Babydoll, I figured that one right out on my own." He leaned over as if he was going to kiss her, a smile playing on his lips. As she leaned in, he groaned and stepped back. Instead he moved his back against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest after pulling his shirt on. "Why do you think I'm avoiding your ass?"

Maggie bit her bottom lip as she got to the last button. She smoothed her hands over the shirt and looked up at him. She realized she should be having this conversation with someone else too. "You don't talk to me any more. You haven't really talked to me since we all got separated after the farm got hit."

Daryl swallowed hard, trying to school his voice from betraying him. He had not been avoiding Maggie on purpose, that was not a lie. But he didn't seek her out either. He realized how much he cared for her, and for his baby when they all got separated, and it had scared him. What scared him more was his little declaration to her, in front of Glenn and Carol of all fucking people. For someone who was trying like hell to keep a level head in all this, he was doing a shitty job. And he knew he needed to keep his distance, for everyone's sake.

"Been busy keeping the group safe and fed, remember? Rick needs someone to help him out. I don't see Glenn stepping up." He groaned inwardly and turned his head, his eyes closed. He regretted it as soon as it came out of his mouth. He was surprised he didn't have athlete's foot of the tongue by now.

"He steps up as much as the rest of you."

"Clearly he's doing a hella job taking care of you," Daryl all but roared at her, his eyes turning to meet hers. "He's doing a bang up job there."

"No one else is bothering to worry about me," she fumed. and Daryl knew exactly who she was referring to when she said "No one."

"It's not my fuckin' place, and you fuckin' know it.". He wanted it to be his place, it killed him it wasn't. And that was one of the other reasons he had put so much space between them. "Maybe you should be telling Glenn this shit instead of laying a guilt trip on me."

Anger flashed in her eyes. Her mouth opened to say something, anything to make him think what he said was wrong, when actually it was the truth. Glenn was trying, but the strain of this whole thing was wearing on them all. Daryl wasn't the only one avoiding Maggie. Only difference was Daryl didn't share a bed with her.

Blinking back tears, Maggie turned on her heel and stalked off, leaving Daryl gritting his teeth in the corner wondering how the hell he was going to fix this one.


	11. Mickey Mouse Club

Rick was going to have hard time being arguing with a man in a Mickey Mouse sweatshirt. Especially when it had sleeves still attached to it. But that didn't stop him from tracking Daryl down just outside of the cell block later that day.

"Just what the hell is going on?"

Daryl's lip curled back as Rick stared at him. "Back off, Rick," he growled, trying to keep his tone down.

But Rick did not heed the warning and was back in his face. "No seriously, you have to think about what you are doing."

"Fuck you."

Now a finger was pointing at him. Rick was two seconds away from having a broken finger and Daryl wondered how hard it would be to fire a gun with a finger in a splint. "No, listen to me, you are a leader to this group and you need to start acting like one."

Daryl turned from him, running his hand through his hair. Rick's words were nothing short of what he had been telling himself. "I didn't ask for that," he tried.

Rick followed behind him, not letting him walk away from this. "No but you didn't hesitate to step up to the plate when I needed you to."

"Fuck off."

Rick tried to get a stranglehold on the anger that was way too close to boiling over. Getting pissed off along with Daryl was going to only lead to more irrational thoughts and statements on both sides. "You need to get control-"

In a flash Daryl whirled around and moved to stand in Rick's face. He was literally spitting mad. "I don't need to do nothing. Not a goddamn thing. You ever think what you saw wern't my doing? Huh?" Now a finger was pointed at Rick's chest. "Do you know how she's feeling? She's scared. Hell I'm scared." Ok Daryl didn't need to be revealing that to Rick. "Do you know you can see everyone of her ribs?" he shifted focus back to Maggie. Rick could not deny him his worry over her and the baby. "Even around her swollen belly? Glenn's not taking care of her. He's not pulling his end of shit."

Rick knew Maggie was losing weight, they all had. He had seen Lori's ribs around her very pregnant stomach too, and it worried him. "You need to get yourself under control before you do or say something stupid, Daryl."

The other man threw his hands up in the air. "Oh now we are back ta dumb ass redneck, huh?"

"Hey!" Now Daryl was attacking Rick. This was not the way Rick wanted it to go. He was about to tell Daryl the needed to cut it out when the other man continued on with his tirade.

His hands were in his hair, making it stand up even worse than it was. "I backed the fuck off so they could do this themselves. But if he ain't going to take care of what is mine-"

"Maggie's not yours."

"The hell she ain't," Daryl declared with a fierceness in his eyes that Rick had not seen there before. "Goddamn it." A fist hit the cement wall. And again.

Rick took a step toward him, laying a hand on his arm. "You have to think about what's best for the group."

"Take one for the team?" Daryl asked bitterly. "Just stand aside and watch her be miserable and hope for the best? Hope Glenn yanks his head out of his ass before its too late? What in the hell do you think I have been doing the past few months, Ranger Rick?"

Daryl pressed his face into his hands. He knew he had to cut this shit out and fast, this wasn't going to solve a damn thing. Scrubbing at his face, he pushed at the tears that had fallen. His shoulders slumped, and he looked miserable. "I'm tired of doing what's best fer ta group, Rick. What 'bout what's best fer Maggie n ta baby? My baby? This stress can't be good fer her, she needs ta have someone there fer her. If Glenn can't handle the job-"

"He's just as scared as you are."

"Don't mean he can't be a man n do ta right thing."

A new voice joined in the mix. "What is the right thing, Daryl?" Daryl reacted faster than Rick but Rick was between him and Glenn, and caught him before he could reach the younger man.

"Let me go," Daryl snarled at Rick.

"No."

"Rick, get your fuckin' hands off of me."

Glenn actually walked towards the struggling pair. "Daryl, if you have all the answers, please tell me what the hell they are, cuz I have got nothing." He held his arms out to the side, his palms out. "I don't know what to do. I don't know how to react. I don't know what she expects from me. I don't know what you expect from me. I don't know anything." The kid looked as miserable as Daryl felt, and that dulled down the anger running through his veins a little. Enough that he stopped struggling against Rick, dropping his arm to his side, his fist still clenched.

The trio fell into silence as Daryl and Glenn stared at each. Rick shifted slightly so he could see Glenn, but not enough to move his mass out of Daryl's way in case he decided that fists were the best way to take care of this, again. "Seriously Dixon. Lay it on me. What would you do in my spot? You talk about doing the right thing, but my God, what is it? I have spent every waking minute the past months trying to figure it out."

The silence continued. Daryl didn't have any more answers for Glenn then he had for Rick or for himself.

"Maybe we should focus on what Maggie needs, at least until she has the baby. Let her be the guide in this," Rick suggested. He looked at both men. "That may not be easy for you. Either of you." He sighed. "I imagine her hormones are not exactly going to make sense to us all the damn time. But if you both care about her as much as you claim to, then that's what we do." Rick moved to the side and looked at them both, watched their bowed heads nod in agreement. "And we keep this possession/aggression shit under control," he said, poking a finger into Daryl's shoulder. "We clear?"

Before Daryl could answer, a wail cut through the cell block, high and female. It was a noise Rick knew, had heard before. And he took off to find his wife before he even heard Carol yelling his name.

 


	12. Fearless Leader

Daryl trudged into the prison, heading for his bed, ignoring the hunger pains in his stomach, the ache in his shoulders and the pounding in his head. It had been a long ass day, a tiring day. Of course, Lori decided to give birth in the middle of all the rest of this. The woman always had impeccable timing. And it had not gone according to plan. Carol and Hershell were able to save the baby, but they lost Lori in the process.

Daryl rubbed his hand over his head as he climbed the stairs. And poor Rick had to ensure his wife didn't come back from the dead, in front of Carl. Shortly there after Glenn had run out to the guard tower to get Daryl, Oscar hot on his heels. Without a source of food for the baby, they needed to go find formula immediately, even though it was the middle of the night.

_"Shit," Daryl swore. "I guess I can take Carol."_

_"No I'm going with you," Glenn insisted._

_"Like hell you are. You need to stay here-"_

_"Carol and Herschel are taking care of the baby. Beth will be no help out there at night. Oscar's going to take watch, and Maggie isn't going to fit on your bike."_

_"Not to mention she ain't leavin the prison for nothing."_

_"There's that too," Glenn allowed a small smile. He made no mention of Rick, but he didn't need to. Rick had just lost his wife, he was not going anywhere._

_"Shit, fine. Lets get this done."_

The trip had been quiet and tense, the two speaking only when they needed to. They found what they needed and headed back to the prison as quickly as possible When they returned, Glenn went to relieve Oscar and Daryl went to find Carol, and hand off the baby stuff they got at the daycare. "Should go back tomorrow," he told her. "In the daylight. Alot of good stuff."

Carol nodded and took the squalling blanket in her arms to the kitchen to prepare a bottle for her. Leaving her to it, Daryl headed to bed. He was beyond exhausted, well beyond. But he only looked at his bed briefly before heading down the row of cells. He stopped in front of 'their' cell. Daryl allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness in the cell and he saw Maggie laying there, on her side, hand on her belly. There was a small tuft of blonde hair on the pillow behind her and a small hand on Maggie's upper arm. Beth. No one else would fit in that small of a spot behind Maggie.

Quietly and without thinking, he walked to the bed. With a quick glance at Beth's sleeping face, Daryl laid a kiss on Maggie's forehead, his fingers brushing over hers. He may have lingered a little longer than he had intended, or maybe he made a noise. Or maybe he was just trying to keep tears back. He couldn't really remember what had happened until Maggie spoke.

"Hey," she whispered, soft, her voice cracking.

"Sorry." He leaned in and kissed her quickly. "Just got back n wanted ta check on ya'll. Go back to sleep."

Maggie smiled softly as her eyes drifted back closed. "K."

Daryl left the girls to their sleep, knowing she was in good hands with Beth. He stripped off the ridiculous sweatshirt and tossed Mickey against the railing beside his bed. With fumbling hands he popped his belt apart and shucked his pants down his legs. Flopping down, he reached for the ties on his boots and kicked them loose, throwing them and his pants to the side.

He was sure he was asleep before his head even hit the pillow. But it didn't seem like his brain shut off, even for a second. He had too much shit to deal with, he had to take care of things he had never given more than two seconds thoughts to. Daryl had to see to every fucking thing that came with stepping into Rick's shoes, until the other man was ready to reassume his role. Maybe this is why Rick looked so damn tired all the time.

Surprisingly, and maybe to spite his previous assertions that Glenn wasn't doing his part, the man proved Daryl wrong by offering to rework the watch schedule, ensuring that despite their losses they had enough coverage. Daryl had quickly agreed, knowing Glenn wouldn't put any of them at risk.

Daryl would have to see that a grave was dug for Lori in the morning. He would personally see to the creation of her headstone, same as he had for Dale and Sophia. They may have had their disagreements, but Lori didn't deserve to die the way she did. He would talk to Herschel about what had happened, and see if they could figure out a way to keep the same thing from happening with Maggie.

With the loss of Lori, and the addition of the baby, that cut into Carol's time. She still had Beth and Maggie to help with the kitchen, laundry and baby duties. Hell they could all do without clean laundry for a while. She spoiled them all with it anyway.

And the baby. Did the baby even have a name? What else did they need to properly take care of it...er her? And why the hell hadn't they been stockpiling this shit all along? Its not like Lori or Maggie weren't smuggling basketballs around for the last 6 months or so. Daryl would have to talk to Carol in the morning, make a list, and maybe see if Maggie and Beth could take the baby long enough for Carol to come with him to the daycare and load one of the trucks up with baby shit. Lots of baby shit.

And then there was Maggie. He still needed to talk to Maggie. He wasn't sure if Glenn had had time to talk to her about what they had agreed upon, he doubted Rick would have. Daryl was fairly certain she was going to be pissed they made any decision about her without her. Maggie wasn't exactly the kinda woman who cared for men making her decisions for her. But truthfully, they hadn't made any decision for her. They had only agreed to leave it all up to her. Maybe they shoulda been doing that all along.

A hand on his shoulder brought him up out of his sleep. "Hey," Maggie whispered as he jerked up.

"'S wrong? Baby? Walkers?"

Maggie just shook her head. "Was just wonderin..." her voice faded for a second, suddenly not as sure of herself as she was when she left her cell. "Could I stay with you?"

"Dont know that's a good idea."

She smiled at him. "Just sleep, I swear. No naked nothing." Even in the dark she could see the raised eyebrow, telling her he wasn't wearing much of anything under those blankets. "Too late huh?"

"Yep." He let a soft pop sound with his p.

Uninvited, and with a lot of awkward twisting, Maggie managed to drop herself down by his legs. Daryl moved himself to the other side of the mattress, and stretched back out, motioning for her to follow him. He was too tired to argue. He was too tired to do anything at all but sleep. And he was already dozing by the time she snuggle up to him, tucking the blanket over herself. Tossing his arm over her shoulders, he drew her closer, tucking her head below his chin. Her arm slid over his side, her hand settling on his naked back. He slid one leg between hers, and felt a small amount of movement between them, where her stomach sat against his. Daryl smiled into Maggie's hair.

"'Night ladies."


	13. Warmth

Warmth. That's the first thing Daryl registered as he woke up. He hadn't been this warm in a while. He then realized he was wrapped around a soft form. His nose was pressed against the side of Maggie's neck. One of his arms was tucked under her head and was tingling from lack of circulation. The other was wrapped around her middle, his fingers splayed across her tummy, her shirt pushed up and revealing a fair amount of her skin for his fingers to doodle designs on as he laid there half asleep.

He could tell she was awake. Her breathing shifted and she arched her back, a soft popping noise echoing in their little blanketed cocoon. Daryl let his lips linger on the back of her neck for a second before moving to get up. Maggie though made soft happy noises as she moved her ass backward, setting her soft skin against his already hardened length, making them both groan into the pillow they shared.

Deciding his morning to-do list could wait a little long, Daryl's hand moved from her stomach to her hip, holding her as he rubbed himself against her. God he could feel how wet she was already and she just woke up. His hand slid back down her ass, pushing her leg up enough to let him slide between her legs. Rolling her face to the side, she stifled her moans into his forearm as he buried his into her neck. Slowly he pushed into her as far as he could. God she felt incredible around him, tighter than he remembered.

"That ok?"as he suddenly remembered she was pregnant, very pregnant.

"More than," she panted, wiggling her hips back, making him gasp.

"Knock that shit off. Or this ain't lasting long," he promised.

Maggie couldn't help herself. It had been too long. Glenn hadn't touched her in months but her body's sex drive had skyrocketed pretty much since she figured out she was pregnant. She did what she could, but it was never enough. But this...this was plenty enough.

With Daryl lazily moving in and out of her, Maggie felt herself quickly spiraling out of control. She bit her bottom lip, trying to keep her noises at bay. They were in a pretty open spot and anyone heading for the stairs could probably see what they were up to. The thought of getting caught had a ripple effect through her, literally. Her muscles tightened around Daryl, making his movements stutter for a second. She moved slightly forward, turning her hips and suddenly he was hitting just the right spot. She became impossibly tight around him as he thrust three more times and she shuddered her release into the blanket. Daryl gripped her hip tighter, yanking her back against him as he found his own, his cries muffled against her back.

"Goddamn," he muttered, gathering her in his arms, pulling her closer to him. "You ok?" he asked.

Maggie rolled over and yanked him in for a soul searing kiss. When she finally let him up for air, he couldn't help but ask "So that's a yes?"

After they both dressed, they headed down the stairs. Allowing her to descend first, Daryl didn't note who was headed up the stairs until they passed Glenn. Various forms of greetings were murmured, as Glenn took in their sleep crusted eyes. Maggie brushed at her bed head nervously as she moved by the young man.

Once Daryl hit the bottom step, he realized he actually needed to talk to him. Dropping his hand from the small of Maggie's back, he turned. "How's watch goin?"

Glenn scratched at the back of his neck. "Ah good. Good. We shifted the schedules a little. And Beth offered to pick up a few hours too."

Daryl nodded his thanks. "Let me know if you're needin' anythin' from me."

Not waiting for Glenn's response, Daryl turned to walk Maggie to the kitchen. They found Carol mixing up pancake batter, a score of last run to the town. He was surprised to see her cooking alone.

"Baby?"

Carol motioned toward the door they just walked through. "Judith is sleeping with big brother."

Judith. That answered one of the questions on his list. He doubted the rest would be as easy.

Daryl just nodded as Maggie moved to help Carol. "Anyone seen Rick?" she asked.

"Not since he shot..." Carol's voice faltered, her eyes getting misty.

Daryl cut her off, not needing the statement finished nor a crying woman on his hands. "Where's she?" What the hell was he supposed to do with a crying woman?

"Floor of their now old cell," Carol offered.

Daryl chewed on the side of his thumb for a second. "Once Carl gets up, I'm gonna need you to distract him," he looked at Carol. "I don't know. Take him to the laundry, somthin'. And I'll get Oscar to help me move her outside."

"I can clean-"

Daryl waved a hand at Maggie. "No, Oscar or me can handle that. You just help Carol with Judith and Carl."

"What if Rick comes out of hiding?"

"Have 'im fold socks"

It was well into the afternoon by the time he and Oscar had laid Lori to rest. Daryl had just finished setting the cross in amongst the stones when he heard a soft wail from behind him, followed by a shushing noise. Straightening, he looked back to see Maggie with Judith in her arms. But her eyes were not on either him or the child. Her tear filled eyes were focused on the cross.

"Hey hey," he muttered, reaching her in a few easy strides. "Maybe ya'll should head inside for a bit." She didn't need to be looking at the woman's grave.

Maggie finally turned to face him. "I don't.." her voice cracked. "I can't..." He knew what she was trying to say, and she wasn't telling him she couldn't go back inside.

"It's ok. It won't be like that for you."

"How can you know that?"

"Cuz I won't let it happen."

"You aren't a doctor."

"No but I can't lose you," he said, so honest it broke her heart. "So it ain't an option." Eyes the color of the stormy pacific met the crystal clear eyes of the arctic ocean, and her tears fell, they cascaded down her face, and made small stains on the baby's blanket.

"I'm scared," she said in a very soft voice. "Fuckin' scared like I have never been scared before, Daryl. Lori had already given birth once, and it killed her. I have no idea what to expect, no clue what I'm getting myself into, and..."

Daryl gathered her into his chest, carefully extracting Judith to his shoulder, freeing her hands. Maggie pressed her face to his shirt, her sobs heaving heavily, her fingers fisting in his shirt, nails almost digging into his back in her urgency. "Shhh," he muttered into the top of her head as his free arm snaked up her back and tangled in her hair, pulling her closer to him. "You will be fine, babydoll. Me n your dad ain't gonna let anything happen to you or that baby of ours."


	14. Ultimatum

A/N: I didn't like it much but the old socially awkward/angry Daryl came back for this chapter. So expect some angst.

* * *

Daryl tried hard to ignore the anger that was festering in his stomach as he watched Maggie talking with Glenn. She laid a hand on his arm, leaning into the other man. Daryl didn't much care what they were talking about. He just wanted this feeling of foreboding dread to go away.

Tightening his grip on his crossbow, Daryl stormed through the yard, heading for the tower, not giving a shit if they did see him. He tried to not focus on the gnawing in his gut, that threatened to move north and tear at his heart. Rick said this wasn't going to be easy and shit if he wasn't right on the money.

Later that night, having been left with only his own thoughts as playthings for a few hours, Daryl was tied in a thousand knots by the time Glenn relieved him. He could smell Maggie on his clothes before the younger man even reached the top step. Daryl knew they had only been sleeping, he would have smelled Maggie's sex on Glenn if anything else had happened. Made him half wonder if Glenn knew what had happened this morning, and if he was ok with Daryl getting some while he was getting screwed.

Daryl nodded in greeting and moved toward the stairs. "Night," he called as he headed off to the prison, needing to get some sleep. Tomorrow, if Rick did not make an appearance by midday, Daryl was gonna go look for him. He would give the man 48 hours on his own, after that Daryl needed him back with the group. He could continue to be weepy, depressed, happy, whatever emotion that was keeping him hidden but the group needed Rick to be with them. Daryl needed him back. And they also had to have services for Lori. Daryl wasn't about to do that without her husband. He wouldn't do that to Carl.

Daryl's feet carried him up the stairs to his bed. As much as he needed to sleep, he wasn't terribly surprised to find Maggie already under his blankets when he got there.

 _Shit_.

He plopped himself down on the side of bed she wasn't curled up without saying anything to her. He had one boot off and the other about undone when he felt her hand slide under his shirt, around his side and settle low on his stomach, just above his belt buckle.

"Hey," she said softly, sleepily.

"Hey," was all he returned before pulling away to stand and shuck off his pants. He watched her watch him. And he'd be lying if he wasn't more than a little turned on by it. But this wasn't sitting right with him. No matter what he and Rick and Glenn had agreed to, it was more than time for her to figure out what she wanted and to be honest with everyone. "You know what?" he asked, refastening his pants before sliding his back down the wall behind him. "I think you n me need ta have a chat, baby doll."

"Oh?"

Daryl arched his head back, looking at the darkened ceiling. "Shit girl. I know none of this has been easy on ya. N I've been up to do whatever ya needed me to, but I think its time ya made up your goddamn mind what ya want."

Maggie sat up and looked at him. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Rubbing his tired neck, he met her eyes. "Me n Glenn," he said simply. "Jesus. I'm done," he said wearily. "I'm not sharing you n my kid wit anyone anymore. I want ya to make up your fuckin' mind. If ya want to stay with Glenn, say so, baby. N I'll be happy for ya both." He paused for a second. "N once Rick is back on his feet, I'll be out of here cuz I can't sit here n watch you live your life wit someone else, playing house wit my kid."

Maggie moved to sit up, crawling over to the edge of the mattress to face him. "And what? I choose you and you kick Glenn out to fend for himself?"

Daryl just shook his head. "He can stay or go, his choice."

"But-"

"No buts." Maybe this was a bad idea. They should talk when they weren't both so tired, so worn out. "You ain't stupid, n you ain't cold-hearted, Maggie. But you ain't thinking right right now." Daryl swallowed hard and bit down the pride pooling in the back of his throat. "You can't have us both. I'm not gonna be a stand-in fer Glenn when he's not good enough fer ya only to have ya run back to him as soon as I fuck somethin' up."

"Thought you didn't want anything to do with me or the baby," she countered, on the defensive.

Daryl actually growled, it was low and deep in his chest but Maggie heard it anyway. "Ya don't fuckin' understand." Daryl tried to figure out how to make her see what he was getting at. "Ya think I'd be here arguing wit your ass if I thought that way? Christ, Maggie. I'd be off dicking around wit someone else by now."

Maggie's eyebrows shot up to her hairline, as a small humorless smile crept on her face. "Like who? Carol?"

"Maybe," he grouched. "Or your sister."

"That ain't even funny."

"Ok no it wasn't," he admitted. Fuck why was this so damn hard? "How about this? When ya first figured ya was knocked up, ya were with Glenn. What else was I gonna do but let ta better man win? I told ya do whatever ya needed to, and what did ya do? Ya sent Glenn after my ass."

"No I didn't!" her angry eyes flashed in the darkness.

Daryl snorted. "Ya sure as hell didn't stop him from coming ta rearrange my pretty face. Ya coulda told him I wasn't any threat. But ya didn't, so I withdrew even more. N here ya come with your cute little baby bump getting me to feel ta kid moving, as if that wasn't going get any reaction out of me at all."

"I was trying to be nice. I thought you'd want to."

"Ya thought I'd want to what? Touch ya every chance I could? Cuz that's what I wanted to do, but ya were shacked up with Glenn. I was lucky he didn't try to rip my arm out of the socket for that one time."

He could see he was finally getting though to her. He hadn't wanted to be mean about this, but he had been hurting for far too long. And he was tired. Goddamn he was tired. Part of him wanted to say fuck it, crawl into bed with her and bury his head under the blankets and wait til the end of time. But hell, they already hit end of time, didn't they?

"When the herd hit your daddy's farm, and we got separated, and I was tore up." What was the phrase? In for a penny, in for a pound? What the hell. "I ain't never been that scared before, Maggie. Never." He saw tears in her eyes. Seemed he finally broke through. "When we found ya, I wanted nothin' more n to gather you up n forget about the shit hitting ta fan fer just one minute. But I couldn't. Not wit Glenn standing there. So when we got here, I found other things ta do, keep me of outta view as much as possible. I needed ta keep myself sane. And it killed me every time I saw ya'll. But I figured it was for the best."

Before he could stop himself, Daryl reached a hand out and twined his hand with hers. "Then ya throw me another loop n you fuckin jump me yesterday. N then crawl into my bed last night cuz you were scared. You didn't go ta see Glenn out on watch, you didn't stay with Beth. You came ta me. What's that mean Maggie? How would ya take that if ya were me?"

She avoided his eyes and shrugged.

"Horse shit," he swore. "Ya need ta own up ta your feelin's n stop this shit." He dropped her hand and stood up. "Fuck this. I don't share. I'm not about ta start. So ya decide once n for all which of us ya want ta be the baby daddy and let me fucking know."

"I don't know if I can," she whispered.

"Ya fuckin' better." He grabbed for his boots. "I'm done playing whatever game you are playing n I know Glenn is just as tired of it."

Maggie watched him lace up. "How do you know what Glenn is tired of? You talk to him less than you talk to me."

"Talked ta him yesterday." Daryl about had the last boot laced up and was ready to go sleep somewhere, anywhere, other than here. "Just before Lori went into labor."

"You did what?"

Daryl drew in a deep breath and held his head. "Shit. Neither of them talked ta ya, did they?"

"Neither who?" anger filled her voice. "Who the hell are you talking about?"

"Rick and Glenn."

"Wait wait." Maggie waved her hand out. "You three had a chummy little chat about me? What the fuck was said?"

"We talked about ya n ta baby," he began, his hand running on the back of his neck. "We are all worried aboutcha."

"So you formed a support group?"

Daryl's testy nature was bordering on hostility and fury and he knew it. "Fer someone who wants answers ya certainly don't give a man a chance to give them to ya," he said through clenched teeth.

Maggie tightened her lips, her nose flaring and crossed her arms over her chest, before nodding her head for him to continue. "We are all worried about ya. N we decided we would let ya call ta shots when it comes ta ya n ta baby, n we would all back the fuck off."

"So then what is this ultimatum for? If I'm to make all the decisions."

He just looked at her. "Ya get ta make this decision, too. Just I need an answer so I can escape this fucking hamster wheel."

Maggie didn't uncross her arms, but did narrow her eyes. "Don't sound like you are giving me an option. I pick you or you leave."

"Leaving is my call, not yours," he assured her. "Shouldn't enter into your decision."

"How the hell can you say that? The group would be lost-"

"Fuck the group, Maggie. This is about you n me n you n Glenn. The loss of one more isn't going ta break ta group."

"It would if it was you."

"Fuck that. Don't make this about 'em. Figure out what ya want, n make ta fuckin' call."

And without another word, he leaned over kissed her, hard. She responded in kind until he yanked back, his eyes closed, forehead pressed to hers. And with a huff, he pulled away, grabbed his crossbow and headed downstairs.


	15. Loss

 

Maggie didn't see hide nor hair of Daryl the rest of the night. She had stayed in his end of their world, sleeping fitfully, hoping he would eventually come back. Shortly after dawn she finally gave up and headed for the kitchen.

She heard Carol talking to someone and felt her stomach flip flop, and she half hoped it was him. She was disappointed to find the other woman babbling at the contents of a small wooden box. The contents stretched a small hand up. Judith.

"Mornin'" Maggie headed over and smiled at them both. "What can I do?"

Carol gestured at the potatoes piled on the table. "Cut off the bad. Making hash browns."

Maggie tried to keep her hands from shaking as she picked up a held her breath, trying to calm herself. She looked up and found Carol's concerned gaze on her. "You ok? Is it the baby?"

The younger woman just shook her head. "Didn't sleep good."

Carol nodded and went back to mixing the powdered eggs. "I imagine not." Maggie looked at her and Carol shrugged noncommittally. "Daryl's voice tends to carry."

Crap. "Thought everyone was asleep."

"It was time for Judith to be fed," Carol said over her shoulder as she put a large pan on the stove.

Maggie gave up on the potatoes and sat down on a stool. "Tell me what I should do Carol."

Carol bit her bottom lip. "Do what he asked you to I guess." The younger woman huffed. "You asked. Don't get pissy with me too." Maggie buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry, hon," Carol apologized. "That was uncalled for. I'm just..."

Maggie looked up at her, as she shrugged and focused in the potatoes on the table. "Just what? I'm past hurt feelings here Carol. Throw me a bone."

Carol nodded, worrying her lip between her teeth. "I've been watching the two of you circle each other for the past few months. It's been beautiful and painful all at the same time," she admitted. "He loves you, you know?"

"He's being an ass."

"He's being Daryl," Carol corrected. "He's in a corner, and the only way out is up to you. He can't do anything about it til you figure out what you are doing." Carol grabbed an onion and started to slice it thin. "He's not used to depending on others to make his decisions for him, and that scares him."

Maggie nodded, and started chewing on the side of one finger. Carol winked and grinned at Judith. If only Maggie could see herself. Mirroring was something Carol learned about in her training as a nurse. When people spend a lot of time together, they start mirroring each other. This was especially true of couples and people with strong bonds. It could be just the baby drawing these two together but Carol knew better.

"But Glenn?" Maggie asked.

Carol shrugged. "I don't know him as well as you do. It's obvious he's trying to do the right thing, only he's not sure what that is any more."

Glenn had to give Carol credit as he leaned against the wall outside the kitchen listening to the conversation. For someone who didn't say much or offer much in the way of opinions, she sure was observant.

He heard his soon-to-be-ex sigh. "But how do I this to him?"

"You've already done it to him, Maggie. You just have to let him go."

After breakfast was cleaned up, Maggie headed back to her cell to lay down for a bit. She hadn't slept well and this kid was pressing on her back. She needed to get off of her feet for a while.

As soon as she walked through the door of the cell, she noticed something was off. "What the hell?"

"Oh hey," Glenn said softly from behind her.

She turned to watch him walk in, an empty box in his hand. A quick glance around the cell and she realized what was wrong. Most of Glenn's things were gone.

"What-"

Glenn smiled sadly at her as he yanked the hat off his head. "I uh... I mighta overheard you talking to Carol this morning."

Maggie's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh Glenn! I am sorry. I didn't mean-"

"I know you didn't. It's ok. I knew this was coming." He sighed and smiled softly at her. "And not just the past few days. I was waiting for you to figure it out first."

Tears that were held at bay since last night finally spilled out. Maggie couldn't help it as she sunk to sit on the edge of the bed. "I never meant... I didn't want..."

The shorter man crouched in front of her, placing his hand on top of her clenched hands. "I know. And I don't blame you. Either of you," he admitted. "I realized the morning you told me you were pregnant I had lost you. I had lost you before I even had you." Glenn kissed her forehead and rose to grab the last of his stuff before she saw the tears on his cheeks.

* * *

Daryl stood outside the isolation cell Rick was holed up in. Rick was slumped against the far wall, not moving. He wouldn't even move when Daryl's flashlight beam hit him, nor when he called the younger man's name.

"Shit."

Daryl continued to pace in front of the cell, trying to figure out what to do next. He knew he should walk in the cell and check on Rick, see if he was ok. But Daryl couldn't force himself to step foot in the cell, his own demons swirling in his head, not letting him go to his friend.

"C'mon, man," he grumbled at the unmoving form in the shadows.

Daryl paced until he made himself dizzy. He flopped down and stared in the cell, watching the other man. Occasionally he flicked on his light and ran it over Rick, searching for a sign he was ok. The third time he did this he saw Rick's chest move, then watched his head roll to the side.

Daryl moved into a crouching position, hooking the loop on the end of his bow under a foot and drew back the string. He fit a bolt in place as Rick looked at him, blinking against the light trained on him. He raised his hand, shielding his eyes.

Daryl put the bow to his shoulder. "Hey," he called.

Rick made a low groan that made Daryl's finger jump from the trigger guard down to the trigger.

"If that's you man, you have about 3 seconds to let me know," he promised.

"Daryl?" Rick hoarsely whispered. Daryl thankfully dropped the bow from his shoulder.

"Are ya hurt?" he had asked, hoping the answer was no cuz Daryl still couldn't talk himself into walking into that teeny tiny room. Just thinking about walking across the threshold sucked the air out of his lungs.

Rick moved more. "I don't think so." They sat in silence for a moment while Rick continued to test out his limbs.

"Can ya come out on your own?" Daryl dared ask.

"Gimme a second."

"Can do, boss." Daryl sat down, and loosened up the string on his bow.

Rick groaned as he moved forward. "Have I missed anything?"

Daryl wanted to laugh. "Not much."

"Kids ok?"

"Right as rain. Carol's been taking good care of your girl. N Carl's been helping her out."

Rick nodded as he crawled to his knees. He placed his hands on the door frame, bracing himself. He slowly rose, and Daryl dropped his bow and rushed to catch him before he face planted.

"How we doin?" Dixon asked, sliding his arm around Rick's waist, taking on most of the taller man's weight.

"Lets go find our families," Rick muttered.


	16. Perfect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jump about 2 months after the events in the last chapter.

 

Maggie tried to ease herself off the bed as quietly and carefully as her very pregnant body would allow for. And as she straightened up and took one step away from the bed, she heard the familiar huff as covers were kicked off.

"Baby?" Daryl asked, swinging his legs off the side of the top bunk.

Maggie didn't even have to look at him to know how he looked. She'd seen it about a million times at this point. Frumpled, in a pair of boxers he had procured during one of his runs so he would have something to sleep in in her cell. He was probably running a hand over his eyes and up into his hair, trying to shake the little sleep he had gotten since coming off watch. If she didn't say something and soon, she was gonna hear his bare feet hit the concrete floor behind her.

"Baby is fine," she griped. While she appreciated his concern for her and the baby, his mother hen mode was driving her up a fucking wall. She swore he went to Carol daily for better ways to be annoyingly cute in his attempts to mother her. "I have to pee."

"Again?"

"Again. Have you been paying any attention at all the past 6 months?"

Maggie placed her hands on her lower back and waddled toward the door. "Wait up, I'll go wit ya."

Naked feet hit the concrete. "Go back to bed. I can handle going to pee on my own. I'm a big girl."

"You've made that clear," he bitched as he climbed back into bed. "Be gone wit ya then."

* * *

Daryl didn't know how long he had drifted back to sleep but a quick glance at the bed below told him Maggie wasn't back yet. The bathrooms weren't that far away.

Grabbing his knife, he slipped his feet into his boots. He knew he looked foolish in a pair of superhero boxers, his boots and a knife but he still trudged down the walkway and stairs, heading for the bathrooms.

He heard the noises before he hit the bathroom, could have been walkers, moaning, and panting.

He banged the flat of his hand on the door as he opened it. "Maggie?" he called, panic pretty close to the surface. "Maggie!"

"Here." The panting was Maggie. So was the moaning.

Daryl turned and found her sitting on the edge of a bench, her hands tightly gripping the edge of the wooden seat, and pool of water below her. Panic erupted through Daryl's surface. "Baby?"

Maggie could only nod as her face cringed, her hands tightening their hold.

He stepped forward then gestured behind him back toward the door. "I'll go get-"

"Don't you fucking leave me," she hissed through clenched teeth.

Another step forward and a half a step back toward the door. "But I need-"

"Your ass here." Maggie pointed at her stomach.

He walked a bit closer to her, his eyes still trained on the door. "But-"

"Fuck you. You did this."

His hands found their way to his hips. "Hey! We startin' that already?"

"Yes."

"I didn't hear you bitchin'."

"Let me start -"

While the next contraction distracted her, Daryl propped the bathroom door open. When the hissing and moaning lessened behind him, he turned back to Maggie. She stared at him with wide expectant green eyes.

He moved to stand in front of her. "Think you can stand?" he asked softly, his hands extended out.

Maggie reached up, using his forearms for balance, and rose to her feet. "K."

"Atta girl," Daryl mumbled as he pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "Let's go, Momma Bear." He circled an arm around her waist, supporting as much of her weight as he could take.

She tensed and stopped before they even hit the doors. Her whole body was rigid against his. And he was fairly certain she hadn't taken a breath since he got her off the bench. "Easy," he encouraged. "Think you can start breathing soon?"

Maggie let out a harsh breath only to suck a tiny amount of air back in. "Not good enough, baby doll. Try again." He glanced down at her and bit back a chuckle at the dirty look she was shooting him. But it worked, she relaxed and he was able to move them out of the bathroom.

They were partway back to the cells when Daryl heard footsteps headed their way.  
"Mornin," he called before Glenn could round the corner.

"Hey. Mornin," was the response that died in Glenn's throat as he took in the two of them. His eyes widened. "Fuck." Daryl could only nod as Maggie tensed up again. "Hershel," Glenn gestured back behind him.

"And Carol," Daryl reminded him. "Have 'em meet us in her cell. No sense in turning this into a damn parade. "

Glenn scurried away as Maggie whined. "Why can't we do this down here?" She gestured to the tables they moved into the common area.  
Daryl moved her toward the stairs anyway.

"You wanna have this kid on the table we eat dinner on? Or in the comfort of your own bed?"

"I wouldn't call those beds comfortable." Daryl had to give her that.

They were halfway up the stairs when the next contraction hit. Maggie's hand shot out to grasp the handrail tight, almost pulling herself out of Daryl's grip. He was damn sure there wasn't a muscle in her body that was relaxed.

"How's it?" Hershel asked from above. His daughter glared up at him and he had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at the sight of the two of them. Their fearless hunter in nothing more than Spiderman shorts and his unlaced boots was all but carrying Maggie who looked like a model for trailer trash Barbie, dressed in one of Daryl's shirts, the bottom unbuttoned around her belly and she was in a pair of now wet sweatpants they picked up for her somewhere after all of her other pants stopped fitting. He was sure his daughter would find his observations hilarious once this whole thing was over, and promised himself to share after his new grandchild had joined them.

"Be better without lookie lou's," Daryl griped at every member of their group standing along the railing, watching them, except Carol. He noticed the woman was missing.

"Everyone back to bed," Rick suggested. "Or somewhere other than here."

Daryl nodded his thanks as they hit the top step. Not two steps forward and Maggie was tensed up again, this time her finger nails dug into Daryl's arm. "Holy hell," he cursed.

"You haven't seen anything yet, son," Hershel promised him.

The old man hobbled after them as Daryl led her to her cell. Carol was already laying out everything that she had stored in the corner of Maggie's cell shortly after Judith was born. "Hey!" she bubbled as Daryl settled Maggie on the bed. "How we doing?"

Maggie growled up at her. "We aren't doing anything. I am having a baby," she insisted. "And it hurts."

Carol smiled at her. "Yeah, it does," she concurred. "How far apart are the contractions?" Carol looked up from Maggie to Daryl.

"A little more than 7 minutes."

"And they are lasting..."

"About a minute."

Carol smiled and nodded. "Beth," she called out to the blonde girl standing in the doorway. "Could you go get your sister some water? Bring a cup and a pitcher or a full pot. She's gonna need it." Beth nodded, and disappeared. Carol then smiled past Hershel as Rick walked in with a chair from the common area. He settled it at the head of Maggie's bed.

"Thanks," she smiled at Rick as he slipped back out. "Daryl?"

A grunt was her only response. "Your ass in the chair," she advised.

Daryl finished fastening his belt, and grabbed for his shirt. " 'M fine standing," he assured her.

"Wont be after 10 or more hours of it," she assured him. "Butt in the chair. Same goes for you Hershel," Carol gestured to the chair up against the railing behind him that Rick had dropped off.

"But I want to help-" the older man protested.

"You wanna be all up in your daughter's business?" Carol asked with an questioning eyebrow.

"Well no," he said as he backed into the chair.

Maggie's support group taken care of, Carol turned back to the young woman as she breathed through a contraction. "How's it going?" she asked the woman poised on the edge of the bed as if she was about to walk a titewire over the Grand Canyon.

* * *

3 hours into Maggie's labor, Glenn popped his head in the cell to find Maggie no more progressed than when Daryl found her in the bathroom. Daryl was sitting in the chair, one leg bouncing anxiously as his hand was trapped in the vice grip that looked like Maggie's hand.

"Breathe, hon," Carol reminded her from the other corner of the room.

"I can't breathe."

"You can talk. You can breathe," Carol assured her.

* * *

6 hours into labor- Hershel was now in Daryl's seat, the other man thankfully escaped to pace a hole through the walkway outside of the cell. He was making everyone dizzy.

"Rick!" Carol called, her voice loud but calm.

"Yep," the man called from the common area.

"Find something for Daryl to do before he keels over."

"I'm fine-"

"Go," Carol pushed him toward the stairs. "We still have some time.

"But-"

"You are driving me nuts, I can only imagine what you are doing to Maggie."

"But-"

"We will come get you if something changes," she promised, kissing his stubbled cheek before pushing him toward the stairs again.

He swerved around her and went into the cell. He looked down at the exhausted look on Maggie's face. "You gonna be alright?" he asked, leaning his crossed arms on the upper bunk, his forehead resting on his wrists.

Maggie smiled and closed her eyes. "I think so."

"'k" he leaned over and kissed her forehead before heading down to do whatever Rick had lined up for him.

* * *

2 hours later Daryl looked up from the pair of socks he was folding as he heard the pounding of Glenn's feet carrying him as fast as they could. Daryl met him at the door, but Glenn couldn't breathe, he only grabbed the bigger man's arm and pulled him to follow.

"Fuck this, Shortround," Daryl took off around the other man, letting him huff and puff his own way back. Daryl took the steps two at a time, and nearly tripped over Hershel's cane on his way through the door. He froze in place as he found that Maggie had been moved from the bed, onto a mattress on the floor. Carol was kneeling in front of Maggie who was leaned against Beth's chest. The poor little girl looked absolutely petrified as her older sister cursed him out, thoroughly, upon his arrival.

"Good to see you, Maggie," he teased as he moved beside Beth and reached an arm carefully down Maggie's back where Beth held her up with her hands. He nodded to the blonde so she could scramble out of the way. He settled with his legs on either side of Maggie, her back to his chest and his back against the cement wall.

It was another hour before the wail of a new infant echoed through the cell block. There was a whoop and cheers from the survivors that were scattered about. Maggie drew in a breath and then started to cry and laugh at the same time as Carol moved the bundle of blanket up to settle on the new mother's chest.

"She's perfect," the former nurse proclaimed to the new parents.

Daryl pressed a kiss to Maggie's temple. "Perfect," he echoed as she pushed back the blanket a little and found a tiny fist. Maggie held the fist between two fingers gently. "Perfect. Perfect Piper Ellie Dixon," Maggie whispered between tears.

 


	17. Look Who's Come To Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning- strong racist/sexist/homophobic terms used in this chapter. Gee I wonder who showed up for dinner? Set about a month after Piper's birth.

 

Merle looked over at Maggie cuddling Piper, Glenn hovering close by. "So the chink done got himself the prettiest girl here. N knocked her up good n proper."

Daryl snarled at his brother. Merle had appeared at their gates earlier that day, and so far he had not ingratiated himself to anyone. Even his little brother. If Daryl had had any sense in his head, he wouldnt be holed up in the far corner with his brother.

He was happy to see his brother, who he thought he had lost what seemed like a lifetime ago. But no one else was even remotely excited the man had returned to the group. Those that had been with them at the quarry already knew what he could be like, and the Greene family were taking their cues from the rest of them. Sure as hell didn't help that Merle had gone for Rick as soon as he entered the yard. It took Daryl, T, Oscar, and Glenn to yank Merle off of Officer Friendly.

"What's crawled up your cunt and died?" Merle asked, disgust painted across his face. "Ya done got a soft spot for them minorities now?" With the tone which Merle said minorities he might as thrown his hands up in the air quote position. He was still a little hot that three minorities plus his brother had been the ones to grab and sit on him after he attacked Rick.

"Leave 'em be," Daryl warned.

"Or what little brother? Ya gonna kick my ass over some chink and his bitch?"

Daryl's eyes flashed in anger, fixed on Merle in a way they had never been fixed on him before. Ever. In all the fights, disagreements, and other shit in their fucked up relationship, Merle couldn't recall a single time he saw that much anger in his little brother's face.

Wait no there was one time. The goddamn shit-mobile. By the time he was 17, Daryl had worked odd jobs, doing all manner of shit for little old ladies and other farmers all over town, everything from mending fences to mowing lawns to driving livestock and a shit load of painting. Unlike Merle and Daddy, Daryl had saved every single penny, and he bought himself this beat up old Dodge pickup. It was shit brown, and had been used as a farm truck so it was well abused. But he was so proud of the damn thing. He tinkered under the hood, learned exactly how that truck worked and tuned it up damn near perfect. He babied it, and was almost in love with the damn thing.

That all came to a screeching halt, literally, one night when Merle, high as a kite, came two wheeling into the driveway a little too fast, missed the brake, and completely totaled the shit-mobile parked out by the garage. Daryl came flying out of the barn where he had been sleeping cuz Daddy was on what was probably another week long bender. And the look he shot Merle was identical to the one he had plastered on his face right now as they talked about the Chinaman's family.

Now that didn't make any kind of sense at all.

"Swear to God, Darylena. I left you for a year and you turn into some sort of pansy-ass, falling in love with the gooks and niggers."

"Merle," the warning fell on deaf ears though.

"You go faggot on me too?"

"Jesus, Merle," his brother swore, as he got off the table and walked over toward Maggie. He reached his arms out, his hands toward the kid. Merle couldn't hear what was being said, but he saw her eyes flick toward him, and she didn't look happy about whatever his little brother was telling her. Finally the girl handed the baby over, and Daryl snuggled the tiny form to his chest, and snagged the rag off of the table before making his way back over to where the elder Dixon was sitting.

"What the fuck you bringing it over here for?"

Daryl slid his ass back on the table next to where his brother perched. "I wanted her to meet her Uncle Merle."

"What are we in a commie commune?"

"Can you just shut your mouth for a minute?" Daryl asked, turning the kid so she was laying along his closed legs, her head by his knees, her feet tucked up against his stomach. "Just look at her."

Merle did as his brother asked him to, and shut his mouth and looked at the little thing. He hadn't been this close to baby since his own daughter had been born almost 25 years ago. And since her momma moved away before the girl was even born, Merle had had very little to do with her when she was a baby.

Daryl reached out and ran a finger down the girl's cheek, and she scrunched her face up, her eyes dancing. Merle glanced up at his brother, and he saw the same look of rapture on his face as Merle had seen when that 17 year old snot nose kid drove the shit mobile home. He couldn't remember seeing his little brother happier than when he was with that truck, until this baby.

Again that just didn't make any sense at all. What the hell was going on?

"You wanna hold her?" Daryl asked, a laugh escaping as his brother physically recoiled away.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Just thought you might like to hold your niece."

"What the fu-"

"Language!" Maggie called from the other side of the room.

"Yeah Merle," Daryl backhanded his brother in the chest. "Watch your fucking language." He looked up and winked at Momma Bear from across the room. She looked none too pleased with either of them.

Daryl swept his hands under the arms of the baby in his lap, hooking his thumbs under her arms, her head against his fingertips. He rocked her to the side and brought her closer to Merle. "She wont bite. But I can't vouch for your Uncle Merle," he told the girl.

Merle finally looked at the girl, really looked at the dark haired pixie in his little brother's hands. He looked at her dark hair, her green eyes. He took in her ears, those teeny tiny things on the sides of her head. Merle found himself reaching out and stroking a finger down her clenched fist.

"I forgot how little they can be," he heard himself say.

Daryl smirked at him. "Wanna take her?"

"Why the fuck-"

"Language!"

"would I want to hold her?"

Daryl continued to smirk at him. "Cuz she's mine," he said simply.

"Are you shitting-"

"Language!"

Merle gave the woman he guessed he should start thinking of as his sister-in-law the finger as he stared at his little brother. "You wanna try that again, Darylena?"

"Just figured you might want to meet my daughter."

"Jesus." Merle ran his hand over his face and looked at his brother as if he had gone crazy. "She ain't the chink's?"

"His name is Glenn."

"Yeah, whatever."

"No, not whatever. His name is Glenn."

"I dont give a good goddamn what his name is, you asswipe. How the fuck-"

"Language!" this time from Glenn.

"Jesus Christ, can't me n my brother have a chat in peace?" There were snickers around the room. Merle lowered his voice. "How in the hell did you get yourself a piece of trim like that?" He gestured over at the scowling woman sitting between Glenn and Rick.

Daryl gave his brother a dirty look and shifted Piper down into his arms rather than dangling her. "You really are an asshole, you know that?"

"Ya knew this," Merle admitted.

Piper gurgled and nuzzled her face into her father's shirt, mouthing at the material. She made an unhappy grunt when she came up empty. "Starved again?" Daryl asked her. "I know your momma fed you not that long ago."

With only the slightest nod from Daryl, Merle saw Maggie get up from the table and make her way over toward them. He watched the girl and his brother exchange the baby with practiced ease. "C'mere, baby girl," Maggie cooed, as she walked back to her spot between Glenn and Rick. Without a second thought, Maggie handed the girl to Glenn to hold while she popped her shirt open, the men around her never even pausing their conversation.

"Ya just gonna let her whipp'em out like that infront of Officer friendly and the ch-"

"Glenn. And they ain't mine. Sides, not like Rick n Glenn aint seen'em before today." Daryl said before reaching up to smack his brother in the back of the head. "Stop starin'. Ya look like ya ain't never seen one before."

"Been awhile," Merle admitted, his eyes still trained on the snack time across the room.

"Knock it the hell off.". Daryl smacked him again.

* * *

Dinner was cleaned up and people began getting ready for bed. Merle and Daryl were in an empty cell setting up a bunk for Merle to sleep on. Well Merle wasn't doing much of anything except stare down where Maggie, Piper, Glenn, Rick and Judith were all still sitting.

"Gotta hand it to ya little brother. That's pretty smooth. I didn't think ya had it in ya."

"What?" Daryl tossed the pillow in his hand toward the head of the bed.

"Knocking up the hottest piece of tail here, and saddling another man with it. That is impressive."

"Fuck ya. Ya don't even know-"

"Hell I don't. Look at him." They glanced over to see Glenn trying soothe a fussing Piper as Maggie headed toward the bathrooms. Rick couldn't offer anything more than moral support as he snuggled his own sleeping daughter. Merle heard him mutter something about putting his kid down, leaving Glenn to deal alone.

Smacking the still folded blanket into Merle's chest, Daryl moved past him, heading for the stairs. Catching Glenn's eyes, he simply jutted his chin out for a second, signalling his willingness to take his screaming daughter off Glenn's hands. The look of relief across the younger man's face was instantaneous as he leapt up from where he was sitting. They met near the bottom of the stairs and Merle watched his little brother slide his arm under Piper, expertly cradling her from head to bottom in one swoop. Pulling her against his chest, he swept the towel off of Glenn's shoulder to toss over his own. It was almost as if he had hit a switch. Piper settled down, a soft grunt and sigh as she pressed her face into his shirt.

"Shit, What are you? The goddamn baby whisperer?"

"Language," Maggie called as she walked back into the room. "Want me to take her?" she offered.

Daryl just made a dismissive face. "Nah, I got her. Ya headed to bed?" He brushed a bit of Maggie's hair back behind her ear.

"If you don't mind getting her to sleep."

"Nope."

"You'll have her to sleep before I can get under the covers," Maggie teased, bumping his hip with hers, on her way to the stairs.

Daryl grinned at her back. "I'll just hang into her til I go on watch."

"Your gonna spoil her."

"That's the plan."

"That's what Daddies do," Merle confirmed as Maggie walked by where he was standing by the railing watching his little brother.

 


	18. Definition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is for psychovampgurl who wanted to see Daryl's reaction to being picked. And also Pass the Porn Tea for stating "I imagine it's still not going to be smooth sailing for our Daryl and Maggie, eh?" Flashback, everything past Daryl and Merle's conversation, happens between Chapters 15 and 16 about 2 months before Maggie gives birth.
> 
> Warning: in here lies smut. Apparently Maggie and Daryl can only have flashback sex...guess its their kink. To each their own.

 

The Dixon brothers stood in the guard tower, on watch. Per Rick's explicit instructions, Daryl held his crossbow in his hands, and a rifle was strung across his back, to be handed to Merle only in the event that he needed it. Rick didn't trust Merle and truth be told neither did Daryl.

It had been two days since Merle had shown up at the prison and he still had not given them any idea how he had found them much less what he had been up to for the past year. Him attacking Rick left everyone on edge. Daryl doubted Officer Friendly had gotten much sleep since his big brother arrived but neither had Daryl really. Merle was sober for the first time that Daryl could recall but he was uncertain how much of Merle's old behavior was drug induced and how much of it was actually Merle.

"So what  **is**  the deal wit you n.. n..." Merle mimed large breasts as well as he could with his hand and his makeshift stump cover.

"Maggie?" Daryl offered.

"Yeah her."

"You've been here two days and ya ain't bothered to learn your niece's momma's name yet?"

"Screw ya," Merle swore, leaning his elbows on the railing in front of him.

They stood in silence a while longer. Daryl watched his brother almost squirm at his lack of answer. He enjoyed it cuz he knew Merle hated asking twice. Finally the bald man couldn't take it any longer. "I don't understand it, you hittin it or not?"

Daryl should have been upset by his brother's crudeness but he was just amused. He was pretty sure Merle wasn't the only one wondering just that was going on with him and Maggie. It's not like they sent out announcements or change of address cards.

* * *

_The evening after Daryl had collected Rick from his hiding spot, the younger Dixon sat in a chair in the corner of the common area, setting up to sharpen the knives laid out on the table in front of him. Several were his, others were Rick's boot knife, Carol's switch blade and a new smaller blade Daryl had found for Carl. Sharpening their knives for them hadn't been a welcome task that he took on but was one that kept his mind from spinning out of control when dealing with this whole fucked up baby situation. It gave him something to focus on. Between the sharpening and the inspection for flaws, Daryl was able to keep his mind on things other than the hell he was stuck in._

_Spitting on the whetstone, he spread the lubricant over the top of the surface with the pad of his thumb as he reached for Carl's blade first. It was the newest in his mix and would probably require more attention than the others._

_Looking at the blade as best as he could in the light, he inspected it for obvious flaws. He glanced up at soft voices on the walkway outside of the cells. Maggie was walking out of the cell she shared with Glenn and headed toward the stairs as the younger man was walking toward the cell. They briefly smiled at each other._

_"Have good sleep," she said to Glenn._

_He looked exhausted as he walked down the walkway. Daryl glanced back down at the blade before his eyes caught movement past thier shared cell. Glenn entered the open door on the end, past Carol's and Beth's cells and stripped off his shirt. Daryl paused his inspection, and watched Glenn climb on the top bunk in that far cell. He shot a questioning glance at Maggie as she walked down the stairs. As if she sensed he was looking at her, Maggie lifted her head and waved a few fingers at him before trudging toward the bathrooms._

_"Huh," he grunted to himself as he went back to blade in front of him. He wondered if that meant what he assumed it meant or if Maggie's decision was to ditch them both. She wasn't tripping over herself to come talk to him. And his little rant the other night probably didn't win him any points._

_Daryl was so wrapped in his own thoughts he actually jumped when a mug appeared among the blades. He nodded at Rick in greeting as the other man settled opposite him at the table and pulled out his python, settling it on a rag he pulled from the gun cleaning kit he sat on the table next to him._

_Daryl picked up the mug and angled the bottom toward Rick. "To your girls," he said softly. Rick grinned bittersweet as he clinked his mug against Daryl's. The men each took a sip before settling into their weapon maintenance._

_"Broke out the good stuff, huh?" Daryl asked as he took another sip of Jack and swirled it around his mouth before swallowing._

_Rick just shrugged as he rocked the chamber out of his gun and released the bullets into the cloth. "Just seemed like maybe we needed a drink."_

_Daryl didn't press. Rick was up and moving and not moping in a cell. He would drink the man's alcohol gladly in that case._

_They worked in amicable silence for a while, each focused on his own task. Rick finished with his gun well before the new blade in Daryl's hand had the edge he wanted. So Rick fished his whetstone out of his kit and reached for his boot knife. He drained the last of the whiskey from his mug after wetting the stone as Daryl had._

_A bottle of Jack appeared and his mug was refilled. "That's plenty," he said softly when Maggie reached a couple of fingers depth. "Thanks."_

_"Daryl?" she asked, holding the bottle out, a soft look on her face as he glanced up at her. He grabbed for his mug and threw back the last dregs and allowed her to refill it as much as she had Rick's cup. Daryl watched her closely. This was really the first time she had spoken to him since his little tantrum. She watched him watched her, and her eyebrow arched questioningly as she gave him a small smile. He returned it with a smirk and tipped his cup in her direction._

_"Thank you, darlin'."_

_Maggie's only response was a genuine smile before recapping the bottle and setting it on the table just out of their reach. She walked away, heading for probably the laundry, or wherever Carol and Beth were._

_Rick looked over his shoulder until he was certain Maggie was out of earshot. "How's things going there?"_

_"Hell if I honestly know, brother," Daryl replied watching Maggie leave his sight._

* * *

_It was early the following afternoon when Maggie approached Daryl again. She found him working on bolts for his crossbow in the yard._

_"Hey," she said softly, moving to sit next to him._

_Daryl reached out and moved the tools and bolts he had sitting on the bench next to him, tossing them to the ground at his feet. "Hey. How's baby?"_

_Maggie leaned back against the wall, and rubbed her tummy. "Doing somersaults. Swear to God we have a future Olympic gold medallist in here."_

_Daryl grinned at her, watching her close her eyes and relax just a little. She looked better than she had since Lori died and gave him a sense of relief. "She letting you sleep at all?" he asked, a nod to her protruding belly._

_"A little," Maggie began. "She?" she opened her eyes and looked at him, a half-smile playing at her lips._

_Daryl focused on the bolt he was forming out of the branch in his hand and just shrugged. "Just a feelin'."_

_Maggie laid a hand on his upper arm. "Why didn't you tell me?"_

_"Seemed stupid."_

_She smiled as he avoided looking at her. She grabbed his hand, pulling the bolt from it, setting it on the bench between them. She took his calloused palm and laid it against her belly. Daryl glance up at Maggie's eyes almost shyly as she did so. "Not stupid. I was thinking the same thing."_

_Maggie marveled at the way Daryl was so different with her when they were one on one. He turned into someone else that the others didn't get to see. Maggie was flattered in away. This man, the one chewing on his thumb as he let his fingers linger on her stomach, could be almost sweet, and achingly caring. Yes his temper flared with her as quickly as it did with everyone else, but he still cared, and maybe as Carol had suggested he loved her._

_Still Maggie had doubts about his feelings, as well as she had doubts about her own. The bond of having a child together was the **only** thing that brought them together outside of their first attraction. If this child going for the world record of somersaults wasn't conceived, she doubted she and Daryl would have much to do with each other. And she would still be with Glenn._

_But here they were, and they were two stubborn people who had a shared responsibility, and would see that this child would be well cared for. But could they call what they had love? It certainly wasn't the hearts and flowers of her childhood fantasies. Daryl Dixon was no knight on a white horse and she had long since stopped fitting into her princess tiara._

_"Whut?" Daryl asked, dropping his hand from her stomach to sit on the bench between them._

_Maggie opened her eyes and looked at him. "Nothing," she said honestly. SHe didn't need to bring any of this up to him._

_Daryl just nodded, reaching for the bolt. "So," he began but left the word hanging in the air between them. She knew what he was getting at and moved closer to him on the bench, leaning her head on his shoulder as she watched him work the last few pieces of bark from the branch. Her hand slid along his side and curled into the tail of his shirt._

_"So," she echoed. His fingers picked at invisible bits of bark as he nervously waited for her to answer the unasked question. Why is it so hard for her to say this? Probably just as hard for him to tell her what he did the other night. And he wasn't making it any easier on her. He had to **know** what she was going to say, why else would she be invading his space like she was. "Glenn moved into the empty cell yesterday."_

_"Huh," Daryl said, forcing himself to look at his hands and not at her. "You talk to him?"_

_Maggie nodded, which he felt more than he saw. "Yeah," her voice cracked._

_The hand with the knife in it came up to cradle the side of her face, the handle laying on her cheek, holding her in place while he kissed her forehead. He knew that was not easy for her. She cared for Glenn, and Daryl wasn't going to belittle her feelings for him in any way._

_But her talking to Glenn did not necessarily mean that she made any decision about Daryl and he did not make any assumptions that it did. He released her and leaned his cheek on the top of her head as they sat there in silence. They sat like that for what seemed like an eternity when Daryl felt a drop of rain hit is bicep. HE looked up at the sky for a second before realizing it wasn't rain. Maggie reached a hand up to wipe at her eyes._

_"Oh baby," he muttered, dropping the knife and bolt to the ground before turning toward her. Carefully he threw his leg over the bench before he pulled her into his arms, and she pressed her face into his neck, letting the tears flow freely. "C'mon, 's ok."_

_"What are we doing?" she asked._

_"About what?" Was she asking about what they were now doing- hugging in the yard? Or was she asking about them having a baby?_

_Maggie just clung to him tighter. "C'mon baby. What's going on?" Daryl wasn't sure what was going on with her. Could be any number of things. "Talk to me."_

_She uncurled her hand from the front of his shirt and used her sleeve to wipe at her eyes, trying in vain to curb them. "What are we doing with this?" she pointed to her belly. Daryl dropped a hand from her shoulder and wrapped it around hers, tugging them both down to lay in her lap, the future olympian thumping against their hands._

_"I'm no expert," he started. "But I'm fairly certain that in there is a baby." A small chuckle came from the confines of his arms. "A fuckin'gymnist, if her mother is any sort of judge." Maggie threaded her fingers with his, her palm flat on her stomach, with his palm against the back of her hand. "N in a couple of months, she's gonna decide she wants to come out and see her momma."_

_"And her daddy," Maggie said._

_"Pft," Daryl started. "He ain't much to look at. Her momma, though, is stunnin'."_

_"Especially with the lack of hot water we have around here."_

_"Even then," Daryl assured her, laying a kiss on the top of her head. Maggie picked up her head, and looked into the blue depths of his eyes. His free hand came up and rested on her cheek, wiping the tears away with his thumb. He kissed the other cheek, capturing each tear with his lips. Maggie's free hand reached up and pressed to the side of his head as his small kisses reached the corner of her mouth. With a slight hesitation, he moved his lips over hers, their breaths mingling for a second, before one of them closed the miniscule distance. Neither was sure who moved first or if they moved at the same time. Their mouths fused, their hearts raced, and they clung to each other as if they were the last two people on the planet._

_Daryl's hand released hers, and he cradled her face in both hands as he continued to kiss her, her mouth opening under his tongue's pressure. Maggie moved one hand to his upper arm, her fingers curling against the muscle, her other hand wound its way into the fabric of his shirt, pulling him closer, if that was even possible. One hand found its way to the back of her neck, the other dropped to her shoulder, both tightening his hold on her. He finally pulled back for some air, pressing his forehead to hers, their eyes closed, their breathing ragged. Maggie licked her lips, and opened her eyes, realizing where exactly they were._

_"I think you need to figure out someplace where we can go and you can make me yours," she muttered as she kissed him again. Daryl groaned in her mouth at her words. His. The word shot through his body and had an electric effect on every inch of his body._

_"Fuck," he cursed against her lips. "Mine."_

_"Yours," Maggie confirmed._

_Taking a deep breath, Daryl racked his lust filled brain, trying to find a clear path on where they could go. Their beds were not happening, especially not in the middle of the afternoon. They had no privacy in his nest. And a cell was no better. They had 3 walls but the bars lent nothing to soundproofing any noises they would make. And hell if Maggie didn't make all sorts of hot ass noises._

_Ok that was not helping him keep the simmer down._

_Then there was Glenn to take into consideration. Fuck. Daryl knew what he could be feeling, having felt it the past few months, every time he saw anything resembling any form of affection between him and Maggie. Daryl was determined to make Maggie's decision to choose him over the younger man as painless as it could be._

_They needed some place where no one else was bound to stumble upon them._

_Taking her hand, he grabbed up his knife, but left the bolts where they laid. Slipping the knife in its sheath, he pulled her to him, kissing her again. He kissed her until she was breathless and her toes curled. He picked up his crossbow and settled his hand in the small of her back. As much as they were in a hurry, they tried to walk as nonchalantly as they could through the common area. They passed Rick, who just nodded at them, with a possible knowing smirk on his face._

_They hit a hallway that led to a part of the prison Maggie had not been in yet, and as she turned to ask him where they were going, she was pushed against the wall behind her. Daryl reached for her, kissing her again. Her fingers clung to his arms as she returned the kiss hard. Daryl leaned his body into hers, pressing a leg between hers. She groaned in his mouth. The friction was just not enough. She reached out and grabbed at his belt._

_Daryl smirked as he pulled back. "Not yet, baby doll." He grabbed her hand and hurried them through the hallways. Finally they reached their destination, the isolation cells where he found Rick._

_"You are a hopeless romantic, aren't you?" Maggie asked as he backed her into one of the cells._

_"You got a better idea?" he asked against her mouth. "Better speak up." But all thoughts screeched from her head as his hand found its way under her shirt. "That's what I thought," he mumbled as she trembled at his touch._

_Daryl's mouth found hers as he slowly undid the buttons up the front of her shirt. She pressed herself to him, eagerly moaning into his mouth. He was moving entirely too slow for her, he was going to kill her if he wasn't careful. She grabbed the back of his head, pulling him in closer as she bit at his bottom lip. Daryl let out a groan and small yelp as she felt his lip split under her tongue. she almost grinned at the metallic taste on her tongue._

_Once he had her shirt down her arms, Maggie pulled back, and sat on the edge of the bed. She reached out and grabbed for his belt, her eyes on his. Daryl tossed her shirt toward the opposite end of the bed, and curled one hand around her jaw. Unfastening the buckle, Maggie leaned forward and mouthed the head of his cock through the fabric of his pants. Daryl's hand moved from her jaw to the back of her head. He didn't hold her tight and couldn't help but rock into her, his eyes drifting shut, her name on his lips. Maggie's fingers dug into his thighs, making his fingers curl tighter in her hair. She smiled up at him, enjoying the power she had over him right now. Daryl Dixon, mighty warrior, speechless. Speechless and whimpering. She popped the button on his pants and slowly drew the zipper down, painfully slow as far as he was concerned. She did it for two reasons, the first was simply to tease him, allowing her fingers to run along his length pressed against the fabric. The second reason was because she knew for a fact he wasn't wearing much of anything under his cargos and ripping the zipper down would kind of hamper the plans they had for each other._

_One hand pulled at the zipper, the other pulled his fly out of her way. As soon as the head of his cock appeared she stopped, and placed the tip of her tongue flat against the frenulum, gently licking against him. Daryl growled as he moved to help her with the zipper. As he pulled it down, her lips wrapped around his cock, sucking more of his length into mouth._

_"Fuck," he growled as her nose hit just below his stomach, and she swallowed around him. Daryl just let his pants go as he grabbed her head, one hand on her cheek, the other on the back of her head. She pulled away, her cheek caving in under his palm. She all but pulled her mouth off of him and ran her tongue around the head. Running her hands up and under his shirt, pushing at it. "Off," Maggie huffed before she moved her mouth back down his cock. One of her hands moved down to his balls, cupping them gently as she began to move faster over him._

_Daryl tossed his shirt on the bed by hers, before grabbing her head, pulling her back. "Enough," he mumbled. He leaned over and kissed Maggie, hard, as he reached down to untie his boots. He growled in frustration as his fingers slipped with the knots. Maggie giggled at him, and nipped at his lips, making him fumble more as her hand wrapped around his length, gently moving over it._

_"Maggie," he groaned, a warning tone._

_"Yes?" She blinked up at him innocently, her hand tightening around him._

_"Not helping."_

_"No?" She reached out with her tongue._

_"No," Daryl insisted, pushing at her shoulder, smirking at her playfulness._

_Maggie leaned back on the bed, her hands behind her, and she crossed her ankles as she sat back and watched him yank at his laces, throwing the boots across the room as he pulled each one free. She giggled at his creative cursing as he tossed the last boot off, tossing it out the door._

_He moved toward her, his eyes on hers, the giggles dying in her throat as he leaned over her, his hands landing on the bed by her hips. He ghosted his lips over hers, a frustrated moan forming in the back of her throat, as he moved down and gently bit her chin. His stubble rubbed against the sensitive skin on her neck, her pulse dancing. It was her turn to push him away. "Ugh, arms," she complained as moved to sit up. She held one arm out to him, and Daryl helped her stand. He pulled her closer, running his hands across her back, his fingers sliding under the band of the sports bra. Maggie kissed him as his hands pushed the bra up. Their lips parted just to allow him to yank it over her head and toss it over his shoulder. His mouth started at her clavicle and moved down, his teeth nipping at her skin a the first swell of her breast. Maggie cupped at the back of his head, her fingers twining in his hair._

_As his mouth found one of her ever sensitive nipples, his hands also slipped under the waistband of the pants she was wearing and he pushed at them, letting them fall to her ankles. Impatiently he turned her, pushing her down toward the bed. Maggie grinned at his urgency, and placed her hands on the mattress to brace herself, as Daryl's chest cleaved to her back._

_He kissed his way down her shoulder blades, down her spine, leaving behind a trail of fire and sparks. Maggie arched into his mouth, wanting, needing his touch, his lips, his tongue._

_"Bastard," she whined as his hand barely brushed her between her legs._

_Daryl laughed against her lower back. "Now darlin', that any way to talk to me?"_

_Maggie looked back at him over her shoulder. "Yes, especially if you don't fuck me, and soon." To prove her point, she moved her ass back against his hardened length, raising on her tip toes just enough to let it slide under where she needed him the most. As the end of his cock touched the top of her folds, brushing against her throbbing clit, she whimpered. A groan sounded from deep in his chest as her fingers found the sensitive head and swirled the mixture of wet around it with a flick of her thumb._

_Pulling back just slightly, he found what they were both looking for. Maggie's fingers fisted in the shirts on the bed in front of her as he slid into her. "Goddamn it," she heard him curse as she tightened around him involuntarily, her body welcoming him in. They stood like that for a moment, he leaned over and kissed the back of her neck, leaving little bites where her neck and shoulder met. "That ok?" he muttered in her ear, laying a kiss against the lobe._

_"Be better if you did something other than stand there." There was a small pause as she finally got what he was asking. "Baby's fine, Momma's not but baby's fine." She squeezed herself around him._

_That shut up chatty Daryl as his hands wrapped around her hips, guiding her on him as he fucked shallowly. He moved slightly, just enough and suddenly those noises she makes, the ones that filled his fantasies for the last 7 months, were back. If it was possible he was suddenly harder, all available thoughts gone from his brain except the feel of Maggie. Her skin under his fingertips, the warm wetness that beckoned him deeper in her. The whine and whimpers, with the small little unlady-like curses that were spewing from her mouth. Until finally he heard the hitch in her breathing, and felt her tense under him. Felt her whole body go rigid for a split second before the wails sounded, announcing she had found what she needed. He did his best to hold back but as she clamped around him tightly, he jerked twice before releasing inside of her. Spent he leaned forward as she sagged against her elbows. Daryl laid an open mouth kiss between her shoulder blades, panting against her damp skin._

* * *

_"So," Daryl started, flopping down on the mattress next to Maggie, leaning over to tie the boot he retrieved from the outer room._

_She slipped her arms in her shirt and leaned over and laid a kiss on Daryl's shoulder. "Yes?"_

_"Now what?"_

_"Now what what?" Maggie was confused._

_Daryl exhaled softly. "Now what about-" he waved a hand between them._

_"What about-" Maggie mirrored his movement, with a half-smile on her face. She was still a little confused, but she thought maybe she was getting an idea._

_"Fuck you."_

_"Ah yeah think we already did that. Did you not see me?" she pointed at her belly._

_He shook his head and laid his hand on the side of her stomach. "Yeah, I mighta noticed." There was a thump on the other side of his hand. "So we good?"_

_Maggie laid her hand on top of his. "Are you asking me to go steady?" she teased, before realizing two seconds later that was the very word he threw at her the morning after their first encounter. Her eyes met his and she saw the anger flash as his hand ripped out from under hers. "That's not what I-"_

_He grabbed up his cross-bow and stormed out of the room, leaving her to sit in the quiet cell listening to his footsteps stomp up the hallway._

* * *

**A/N: No that was NOT where I had intended to leave this chapter. This chapter was supposed to end on a happy "Yay we have figured out what we are doing" note, but nooooo couldn't do that could we? of course not...may have just added another chapter to this story as a result.**


	19. Fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continued flashback from Chapter 18. Everything 1-2 months before Maggie goes into labor. Some fluffy bits I didn't have anywhere else to put.

Daryl got as far as the double doors that lead back to their cellblock before smacking himself upside the head. He left Maggie alone. He left pregnant Maggie alone. He left the woman pregnant with his child alone. With no weapon.

He really needed to get his shit in order. If he wanted this whatever it was between him and Maggie was to work out, he was gonna have to keep some of the Dixon bullshit in check.

Maggie sat in the cell exactly where he had left her. Panic had flooded her for a split second as he left the cell. He left her unprotected and alone, but somewhere in her brain she realized Daryl wouldn't have drug her to a place that had walkers to have sex. He wouldn't have allowed himself to been relax enough to enjoy it the way he had.

She hid her smile as she heard his boots scrape on the cement outside the cell. He leaned on the door jam and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm... I'm..." Maggie grinned at his stuttering. It was almost adorable. She reached her hands out and he slung his bow across his back, as he stepped into the room, moving to help her up. He grabbed her hands and she rose to her feet. Daryl didn't move back, and they stood like that for a few moments, not saying anything. Maggie stared at his chest before moving her hand up to lay over his heart. She felt it jump under her palm. She was so close she could feel his breath stirring hair on her forehead.

"Maggie," he whispered. She just shook her head. She knew he hadn't meant to just up and leave her. She knew that he knew he was being stupid. She knew these grown up emotions were all new to him and he was doing the best he could. Same as she knew this wouldn't be the last time he was a jerk to her.

" 'M a prick," he finally admitted.

"Not the word I woulda used," she said softly, her tone careful but teasing. "But the same sentiment."

She looked up at him, her green eyes meeting his. Maggie kissed him, a soft forgiving kiss. "I ain't gonna be easy to be with," he also admitted.

Maggie couldn't hold back the giggles. She let them come and tilted her head til her forehead was against his chin. "Gonna be?" she asked.

"Keep it up n I'll leave your ass here fer real this time."

* * *

The next few weeks were a period of serious trial and error for them both. The first big hurdle was Daryl's need for privacy. He didn't see any need for them to announce their relationship to the group, not that Maggie was making flyers. He strove to keep it as low key as possible. Her advances, subtle touches, and other small affections were met with frozen flesh or glares when others were around. But when they were alone, the affection that filled him warmed her to her bones. Maggie would take what he offered when he offered it. And she tempered back her need to touch him when others were around. Not all of the time, but most of it.

The next adjustment was sleeping arrangements. Daryl was not about to move into her cage, and Maggie was in no condition to start sleeping on the floor. She could barely get out of bed as it was. Their compromise was to keep things as they were for the time being. It wasn't as though they even had the same sleep schedule most of the time. With Daryl's responsibilities with watch and being Rick's right hand, he stole sleep when he could and more times than not it wasn't when she was sleeping.

* * *

"What about Jessica?"

One would have thought Maggie suggested they named their child after Lucifer by the look on Daryl's face.

"You've got something better?" she asked. It was a beautiful day, and Maggie had joined Daryl in the watch tower. He had given her a raft of shit about coming up, but she informed him she was pregnant, not blind. Truth was she was tired of being babied by him, and wanted to do something other than cook, clean and laundry.

"I don't know of anything," Daryl griped, moving to the railing of the tower.

"You must have thought of some names. Is there anyone you would like name the baby after?"

Daryl swallowed hard, and avoided Maggie's eyes. She could see the gears in his head running and patiently waited for him to get whatever it was forming up in his head to come out. And he blinked back what could have been tears and looked at her. "Ellie," he nodded. "If we're havin' a girl, I'd kinda like to give her Momma's name. Ellie."

It was the first time Daryl had ever mentioned his mom, much less her name. Maggie fell in love with it, for no other reason than for the emotion that it brought up in him.


	20. The End?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place about 6 years down the road from Chapter 19.

 

  
"Daddy! Daddy! Daaaadddyyy!" Piper squealed as she ran up to her father.

"Dear Lord, Punkin," Daryl said as she latched onto his leg. "I'm right here. N I'm not deaf. At least not yet."

He grinned down at his daughter, her green eyes sparkling as she pressed her chin to his hip, looking up at him. Damn if she didn't look more and more like her momma with each passing day. "Whatcha up to?"

Not moving from her spot against his leg, she opened her hand, and showed him the rock in her palm. "Isn't it pretty?" She stretched her hand up for him to get a better look. It was a piece of quartz, nothing horribly special.

"Yeah Punkin. Where'd ya get it?"

She bit her bottom lip and smiled. "Carl gave it to me."

Daryl had to fight the grin that threatened to spill onto his face. He tried very hard to not encourage his girl's crush in Rick's 19 year old son. But Piper pretty much imprinted on the boy since the day she was born.

As if on cue, Carl appeared from around the house. And Piper squealed, running in the opposite direction. Daryl just shook his head, he wasn't sure he would ever understand girls. They hadn't made much sense to him at any point in his life, why would they make sense now?

Boys though, Daryl understood how they worked. "Don't think I ain't watchin' ya young man."

Carl rolled his eyes. "Dude. I've got enough issues with Beth."

* * *

After dinner and the kids were all put to bed, the remaining members of their group sat down in the living room of the Greene house. About a year or so after Piper was born, Rick, Daryl and Merle struck out to check and see if the home had survived the attack. They found it pretty much as they had left it that fateful night.

Walkers had become far and few between, something they could learn to live with in a sense. Like keeping an eye out for a rattler when you are out in the rocks. So the group decided to move back to the Greene's farm.

Maggie had serious reservations about moving back there. But it was her home. And her dad was so sickly when they decided to make the move, she knew it would raise his spirits some to be back in their old home.

They rebuilt the barn, in a different spot than where the old one stood. They managed to plant a couple gardens, and were pleased to see the orchard still standing. They picked up a few cows and chickens that were either too stupid to die or just were lucky.

The group even went as far as to move Lori and T-dog to lay to rest by Dale and Sophia. And now, now they were joined by Hershel, Merle, and Carol.

Daryl pulled his eyes from the eight crosses across the yard in the dwindling daylight as he heard Maggie, Beth, and Amanda chattering on their way back into the living room from the kitchen. The glasses in their hands clinked as they moved to hand everyone a glass of moonshine. They didn't usually drink but tonight was special, tonight was the anniversary of their return to the Greene home. To their home.

"Hey," Maggie muttered, laying a soft hand on his arm. Daryl glanced at her, and placed his fingertips over hers.

"Hey." He turned and pulled her into an embrace as they both looked out the windows, back toward the crosses. Both sets of eyes settled on the last cross in the row, the most recent of their burials, less than 6 months ago. Their son, John, was a little more than 4 when he died. They weren't 100% sure what it was that killed the little boy. Some sort of sickness. They thought it was the flu but it got progressively worse and without Herschel or Carol, they were helpless to do anything for him.

A warm hand rested on Daryl's forearm, another on Maggie's shoulder, dragging their attention to the young woman beside them. Amanda, Daryl's niece and Merle's daughter who had found them at the prison, somehow. "Hey- Rick wants to give one of his speeches." She rolled her eyes, playfully, and grabbed at their hands, dragging them back into the other room.

Daryl leaned his shoulder against the door frame, while Maggie grabbed two glasses from the end table where she set them before going to Daryl, one 3/4 of the way full, the other almost full to the top. Daryl gave her a questioning eyebrow as he noted her glass was considerably more full than his. She took a healthy sip, bringing her level down to his. He wrapped his arm around her, kissing her temple. "If you get drunk, I will take advantage of you," Daryl promised against her ear, making Maggie laugh and blush.

Rick stood from where he was seated beside a fairly pregnant Amanda. Daryl joked with him that he was going to single handedly repopulate the country the way he was going at it. He and Amanda already had one little one upstairs tucked in bed with his cousins.

Rick raised his glass as everyone else quieted down, their heads turning in his direction.

"I would like to propose a toast to the loved ones we have held and lost, those that have paved our way here to a place where we are safe, secure and happy. Especially to those we have lost this past year. To John and Merle."

Rick held Daryl's eye for a moment from across the room before leaning to clink glasses with Amanda. Daryl's arm tightened around Maggie as she clinked her glass with his. She kissed his cheek before taking another healthy swig out of her glass. There was a murmuring of 'here, here's and glasses clinking throughout the room.

"Ya know. Dixon moonshine ain't something you should be knocking back like that," Daryl muttered just loud enough for Maggie to hear. "Not that I mind drunken sex, mind you," he assured her. The still was one of the first things Merle set to building when they finally had settled in. Rick had been opposed to it at first, but Carol had insisted that the medicinal properties alone made it worthwhile. Rick had half wondered if Merle had put Carol up to telling him that just so he would relent and let Merle build the damn thing. Rick had just shook his head, amazed once again that the two of them had found solace in each other, somehow. Daryl had not questioned it, why should he.

Maggie shifted next to Daryl and took another sip out of her glass. "I've got to pee."

"Again?"

"Again." She put down her glass and headed up the stairs.

Daryl stood there in silence watching the rest of the group. They had come along way. They had suffered some serious losses, but also some significant gains. The bedful of little ones upstairs was a prime example of just that.

Amanda waddled over and kissed her uncle on the cheek. "I'm headed to bed."

"'Night, Possum. Sleep well."

Amanda smiled at him as she poured the contents of her glass into Maggie's where it sat. She headed for the stairs as Maggie was coming back down. "Peeing again?" Amanda asked.

"Of course."

Suddenly the bells and whistles went off in Daryl's head as he reached for Maggie's glass. He sniffed it and then sipped out of it. The faker. It was water.

Grinning, he turned and stalked toward Maggie. "When were you going to tell me?" he grabbed her almost roughly, yanking her to him.

Maggie just kissed him. "Never could figure out a good way to tell you you were gonna be a daddy," she smirked against his mouth as they heard hoots, hollers and whistles from the others in the room.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Annelisa for riding this one out with me. And also for loaning me Amanda/Possum. If you havn't read her Possum Tale fic... go... read it! its over on FF.net. Our storylines are not quite the same but I really can not put anyone else with Rick now. I adore Possum.
> 
> And thank you all for your great comments and support. 
> 
> I started a follow up "Random Freakin' Days," where I will be adding new bits to this story line though not always in order.


End file.
